


Hijack March Madness 2015

by Caliope



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Basically a bunch of drabbles following the prompts of this year's March Madness, Frostcup - Freeform, Hijack, M/M, March Madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-03-16 02:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3470429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliope/pseuds/Caliope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Behold my useless contribution to this wonderful fandom! As the tittle suggests, these are my entries for this year's Hijack March Madness.</p><p>Rating and warnings may vary from drabble to drabble; if so, I'll specify it individually on the chapters.</p><p>(For those who may not know what's going on: We receive a different one-word prompt every single day of March and write/draw something based on it. You can find more information on Hijack Week's profile on tumblr.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1: Free - Birthday.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn’t going to write anything for March 1st because I had planned to use free days to get ahead with other prompts, but here’s a little thingy for our favourite talking-fishbone’s birthday.
> 
> Warning: mentions of depression and suicidal behavior.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

Hiccup loathes his birthday.  
  
He has loathed it since he was a little kid, too innocent and too young to fully comprehend why his parents argued in the kitchen after one of his parties, and why his mother left shortly after that to never come back.

  
He has loathed it since primary school, when his peers used to bring candy and horribly makeshift invitations to their class every year and the gesture reminded him of how he couldn’t even have a normal birthdate, of how he was even weird about that.  
  
He has loathed it for as far as he can remember, because his birthday didn’t make him feel special, or loved, or even remotely good about the fact that he was born in the first place. On the contrary, his birthday served as a reminder of everything that was wrong with him and his life, of how insignificant and unnecessary his existence was.  
  
His mother left because of him, and his father still blames him for it. He doesn’t have any real friends to tell about, because he’s too odd, he has too many issues going on. He has never done anything remarkable during his time in this world.  
  
It’s a raining February 29th, and Hiccup tries to explain this to the white-haired boy that’s grabbing forcefully his arm, effectively preventing him to jump off the bridge they’re currently standing on, but he doesn’t seem to hear him.  
  
The truth is that Jack hears him, loud and clear —the boy is crying over the deafening sound of the storm surrounding them, after all— but he doesn’t want to accept it. He can’t accept it. He doesn’t know the boy, but it doesn’t really matter as he gets him on the safe side of the rusty railing and the freckled teen positively crumbles in his embrace. Because when Jack finally stares at those red-rimmed eyes, the words positively burst out of his mouth without his consent, and a pair of freckled cheeks blush under the unusual attention.  
  
March 1st greets Hiccup in Jack’s couch, with Jack’s too big pajamas keeping him warm, and with Jack guarding his sleep.  
  
The following February 29th Hiccup wakes up with Jack’s body curled around him, and he doesn’t loathe his birthday anymore.


	2. Day 2: Asexuality.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was very, very afraid of writing this prompt; or, to be more specific, of offending someone who might read this. So please, if I got something wrong, let me know so I can fix it. 
> 
> So, about the actual writing: Jack is asexual and sometimes he needs some reassurance. 
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

It is one of those lazy and very unusual evenings in which the pale boy feels specially cuddly, and when Jack suggests they go to the bedroom Hiccup wastes no time in carrying him upstairs in his arms. It’s then, when they are lying next to each other on the bed with only their pajamas’ pants on, sharing body warm and enjoying the quietness of the room, that Jack scoots closer to the taller male in a shy gesture.

Jack isn’t one to initiate intimate contact often —he is comfortable sharing kisses and hugs, but he’s also easily overwhelmed by them— and Hiccup understands that it could make the younger boy feel anxious or cornered by the affection, so he doesn’t do it often either. So it is a surprise when Jack hugs his waist tenderly and presses a little peck to Hiccup’s slightly stubbed jaw, then his chin, and finally his lips.  
  
The freckled boy is astounded by his boyfriend’s approaches, and an inevitable sigh of contentment escapes his mouth as Jack presses another kiss on his skin, this time over his throat. The pale boy looks upwards at the sound, cheeks flushed adorably and eyes scrunched in consternation. Hiccup smiles sheepishly at him for just an instant before grazing his lips over Jack’s furrowed brow, and the younger of the pair nods reassuringly to then resume his previous actions.  
  
Hiccup knows that asking Jack about why he’s suddenly covering him in kisses would only make the pale boy self-conscious, and he’s too proud of his boyfriend’s attempt at being more physical about his love to comment on it and ruin it, so he focuses on the pair of lips pampering him instead. Jack kisses Hiccup’s neck and shoulders with tiny and lovingly pecks that soon have the freckled boy breathing heavily out of pleasure.  
  
He tries to keep his moans as low as possible as to not startle Jack, but the task turns more and more difficult as seconds go by and the kisses over his skin grow in pressure. He gives a strangled mewl when Jack scrapes his pearly white teeth over a specially sensitive spot in the crook between his neck and shoulder, and this time the younger boy doesn’t move away from his skin, simply resting his lips there while Hiccup pants softly against his temple.  
  
"You’re so, so beautiful."  
  
Jack’s toes curl in pleasure at the breathless praise, although he doesn’t really know if it is because of Hiccup’s words or his freckled nose nuzzling his ear. Maybe it’s a combination of both.  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you more."  
  
Hiccup keeps brushing his nose against the curve of Jack’s jaw as his sun-kissed hands bring their bodies closer by the waist, and Jack sighs softly as Hiccup pecks his neck thoroughly as he was doing with him just moments ago. The paler boy brings their mouths together in a tender kiss of open lips, humming his approval low in his throat when Hiccup sucks on his lower one and coaxes his tongue into the action.  
  
Then Jack’s legs move for a brief moment, but it’s enough for something very warm and firm to press against one of his thighs… And as he gasps, Hiccup shies away from their embrace and Jack’s touch, pressing an apologetic peck on his furrowed brow.  
  
There’s no need for further explanations when his boyfriend gets out of the room and comes back roughly five minutes later, because Jack can hear his muffled moans through the wall adjacent to the bathroom, and the toilet flushing soon after.  
  
Hiccup gets into the bed and hugs him again, not noticing the tears threatening to fall from Jack’s eyes at first, and then positively panicking at the view. “Jack, why are you crying? Did I make you upset? I-“  
  
"I’m sorry", he whimpers almost inaudibly, his voice just a broken sob, "it’s just that I feel guilty… You’re always so considerate, and so careful, and I- and I can’t please you, and maybe you’d be better with someone else."  
  
"Oh, babe, we’ve talked about this." Hiccup moves to rest against the headboard and takes Jack with him, cradling the younger boy in his arms lovingly. He presses his lips to his temple in a comforting gesture, patiently waiting for the crying to die down enough for Jack to hear him. "I love you, Jack. You’re my most dearest human being in the whole world. I don’t love anybody else, and I know for a fact that you love me, so no, I wouldn’t be better with any other person that wasn’t you." Hiccup looks into blue red-rimmed eyes, unsure and still sad, and flashes a fond smile at them. "So what if we don’t have sex? You don’t need to do something painful for you in order to please me, because it you feel miserable I’ll feel miserable. As long as you’re happy and safe and still love me, I’ll be satisfied. Okay?"  
  
Jack nods calmly, the honesty in his boyfriend’s words sinking into his mind overpowering his fears. He looks upwards at Hiccup’s green eyes, cheeks red and eyelashes still wet, and the pale boy can’t help but return the tender grin directed at him. “Promise?”  
  
"Promise."


	3. Day 3: Booty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied sexy times and the tiniest bit of swearing, so slightly NSFW-ish if you aren’t accustomed to kinky gay men I suppose.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

"What d’ya think?"

Jack’s brows frown slightly in mocking wondering, his dramatic side taking the best of him and making the pale boy going as far as to put two fingers over his lips and faking a thoughtful expression.

Aster scoffs at his stupidity, arms crossed against his chest and baseball jacket hanging loosely off his shoulders. “Ya’re such a nerd.”

"Fuck off, kangaroo, I just need another look to be sure", Jack abandons his previous posture to look swiftly over his right shoulder, his blue gaze fixing on a certain male standing surrounded by a sea of people after just a few moments of adjusting.

The brunet boy —his “prey”, as Aster is starting to call him— is currently drinking a beer next to the bar, forearms propped on the counter and a relaxed expression on appealing his profile. Jack turns slightly to his right, and his eyes roam over the curve of the stranger’s sleek back almost on their own accord, before sliding downwards to the actual price: covered in deliciously tight-fit jeans it’s the best butt Jack has ever had the pleasure of seeing, and he can feel his own mouth go dry at the sight.

"Well?"

Jack snaps out of his indecorous staring at the smug sound of his friend’s voice, and turns again to face Aster’s cocked brow. “I never thought I’d ever say something like this, but I wish you were right cottontail”, Jack takes a sip of his beer just to delay his answer and piss Aster off, “even like that, though, I’m sticking with my guessing.”

"I’m telling ya frostbite, Pitch has pants like that, I know what I’m talking about", the Australian rolls his eyes at his friend’s stubbornness, taking a gulp of his own beer, "ya’re just disagreeing with me because ya’re a little shit."

"Maybe. Or maybe I actually think that the boy isn’t as badass as he looks", Jack laughs heartily at his friend’s groan, perfectly knowing that his pun was completely terrible.

Call it fate or serendipity, but the next time Jack turns not-so-discreetly in the counter’s direction the stranger is smiling at him. He flashes Jack a little, lopsided and very handsome smirk, and Aster can appreciate the violent blush that rises to his pale friend’s cheeks despite the dim lights of the club. The Australian grins devilishly at the other boy.

Oh no. Jack knows that expression too well.

"Wanna bet? Ten bucks." This time Jack is the one that groans and Aster is the one laughing. "He looks pretty interested in having a conversation with you. Maybe you’ll get lucky before he can discover how much of an idiot you are."

“‘Fuck, man…”

"Exactly. Unless you’re a chicken, that’s it."

"Okay, no, nobody calls me chicken", Jack punches Aster in the chest, barely tickling the much stronger boy, but oh well. At least he tried. "I’m gonna go there and ask him if he goes commando, and then I’ll come back here and rub it in your face", he threatens between sips of his beverage, finally downing it completely and heading to the counter with Aster’s doing catcalling sounds at his back.

Jack stands next to the stranger on the counter as casually as he can manage —which it’s not much, unfortunately—, and asks one of the girls serving there for another beer. He’s thinking of not-too-embarrassing ways of starting a conversation with guys with glorious booties when his drink is positioned in front of him. However, when he’s about to pay the barkeeper, another hand reaches out —sun-kissed and freckled and with fingers that are giving Jack some ideas— and gives her the money, it’s owner almost simultaneously breathing a hot “Hey” in Jack’s right ear.  

"Hey, uh", Jack return the smile the stranger is giving him, although a little more startled than what he intended to. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem", the brunet nods his head carelessly, the grin still plastered on his mouth. It’s one of those framboise imported beers that they shouldn’t even be serving at the campus’ bar, more expensive than the one with tequila that the stranger is drinking, and Jack can’t help but to bite his bottom lip, flustered by the nice gesture. "I’m Hayden, but almost everybody calls me Hiccup."

"Jack", he offers, and then takes a sip of his new drink. Hopefully the cool liquid will help him with his blush.

"I was wondering if you we’re going to come closer or not. Also, your friend seems quite entertained right now."

Jack feels like dying of embarrassment, but he can’t choose the reason: his options so far are the suggestive smirk on Hiccup’s lips, the fact that he knows he has been looking at him during the past two hours like a creep, or Aster giving him the thumbs up out of the corner of his left eye. And now Hiccup is chuckling low in his throat. Probably chuckling at him. Great.

"Actually, we were discussing something earlier, and I wanted to ask you about it", Hiccup turns on the spot with an amused expression, finally giving Jack a perfect view of feral green eyes and sweet freckled cheeks and nose. It’s an oddly cute combination, and well, the front is as good as the back. He makes a ‘go ahead’ gesture with his free hand —remember: the tanned hand with long and probably very dextrous fingers, if the tiny callouses formed on them is something to tell about— as the other brings his beer to his lips, and Jack plays nervously with the glued label of his own one. "Well, so, you see, your jeans fit you really well and my friend said that you probably wasn’t wearing underwear because, uh, his boyfriend has jeans like those and he’s talking from experience or something like that, and I, uh, I think you have a really nice butt but I disagreed with him because I wasn’t sure, and then he dared me to ask you, and he called me chicken, but I’m a very brave guy so I was like ‘Oh I’m gonna ask him and then I’ll laugh in your face’ and–"

The sound of Hiccup’s laugh interrupts his stupid speech, and Jack groans with his head in his hands, completely mortified. Then, a pair of lips grazes agonizingly close to his right ear, and Hiccup’s voice is hot and almost humid. “So, you think I have ‘a really nice butt’?”

"It’s that the only thing you have to say!?" Jack whines finally looking at him, his indignation overpowering his shame, and Hiccup laughs a little bit more.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You have a really nice butt, too", he jokes with a wink. Jack groans and pouts childishly, his blush making his face almost uncomfortably warm. Then Hiccup’s smirk falters a little, slowly turning into an inviting smile. "In fact, I was wondering if you’d like to continue this conversation in my dorm."

They leave the bar after finishing both of their drinks and saying goodbye to Aster and Pitch (that arrived just a few minutes before), heading directly to Hiccup’s room and almost ripping the clothes from each other.

Hiccup’s jeans are, unsurprisingly, very tight. He is, surprisingly, wearing nothing under them.

The next morning, Jack is having breakfast with his friends, and he hands his ten bucks to Aster with a dopey smile on his face. Then, when Hiccup arrives to meet them wearing black leather pants, Jack makes a stupid excuse about having forgotten something in his room, and Aster and Pitch share a very suspicious look as the pale boy drags the poor brunet out of the cafeteria.


	4. Day 4: Catastrophe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically omegaverses are my favourite thing ever and I don’t think there are near enough on this fandom, so… yeah… Totally treating myself here.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

Jack claims to be feeling a little sick, and the brunet immediately inquiries him about it, green eyes turning into two puddles of sweet concern. Jack has to almost shove him out of the door with a fake smile and a myriad of comforting things falling from his lips. Then he waits a few more minutes after Hiccup has left for work before getting dressed and leaving the flat himself.

The pale boy walks down the street in a wool black coat, but he has to suppress a violent shiver despite the warm material over his shoulders. It’s a weird action, because the cold never bothered Jack before, December-in-the-usually-gelid-Berk and all, and his mind is starting to give him reasons, medical reasons, for being this affected by the weather all of the sudden. He shakes his head, not wanting to go down that path. Not yet, at least.

When he arrives at the drugstore the first thing that reaches his senses it’s the smell of a beta, and Jack offers a relieved expression at the woman behind the counter. His request is still embarrassing enough as he voices it with a stuttering low tone, his palms sweating out of anxiousness and his pulse probably rising by the second,  but at least the pharmacist doesn’t ask for his ID or makes questions about it. She hands him his purchase inside of a convenient double plastic bag that hides the product completely of curious glances, and even smiles gently at him, which Jack is silently grateful for.

Jack’s knees are trembling too much, and he doesn’t really know how he managed to open the door, but he’s currently trying to steady his shallow breathing sitting on the toilet’s cover seat. He is gripping a little box between his fingers, and he gulps to gather some courage, opening it and taking the plastic device out of the cardboard.

The pale boy reads the information pamphlet that comes with the box carefully, replaying the instructions in his head over and over again almost like a mantra as to not make a mistake. He breaks the foil wrapped around the device with his teeth, his hands not obeying him, and he wants to cry instantly.

The pregnancy test looks completely harmless in the palm of his hand, but Jack swears to God that he can actually see the inanimate object laughing mockingly at him.

"This is it, Jack", he whispers to himself in the solitude of the bathroom. "Man up. You can do it."

With a final sigh of anticipation he stands up, unzipping his jeans with one hand while holding the plastic tube with the other. When he’s finished —and after looking at the test with a disgusted face— he sits on the toilet cover again, and waits for the time indicated on the pamphlet.

Jack thinks about a lot of things during that time. He thinks about his last year of college, the stressful classes and the sleepless nights, the stupid projects and the insufferable exams. He thinks about his biological parents, about what they would think about him if they saw him like this, and then he thinks about his adoptive father, a feeling of guilt pooling in the pitch of his stomach. He thinks about all the things he has always wanted to do when he finished his studies: traveling, going to new places, discovering the world…

But he thinks about Hiccup, mostly. He thinks about his reaction. He thinks about all the possibilities. Maybe he’ll be horrified and break up with him. Maybe he’ll feel bad about Jack and stick with him for a while before realizing what’s going on and abandoning him. Maybe he’ll stay with him, faking a happy life, and one day he’ll confess to Jack that he ruined his life.

When the due five minutes of waiting have passed, he is on the verge of tears.

Jack stares at the two red lines that have appeared on the test like hypnotized. He notices he’s crying a long time after that, when salty water reaches his lips and he licks it out of impulse.

He’s pregnant. He’s a pregnant 21 years old omega.

Now what?

Suddenly somebody knocks from the other side of the bathroom door, and Jack panics upon hearing Hiccup’s voice. “Hey dear, are you feeling better?”

"Yes", he squeaks out, wiping his tear-stained cheeks with trembling hands. "Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine."


	5. Day 5: Discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation to the omegaverse presented on the previous prompt ("Day 4: Catastrophe") because I keep indulging in my own kinks, sorry. Warning for language and mentions of sex.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

Hiccup wakes up with the sound of Jack emptying whatever little contents he had of last night’s dinner in the toilet, and he’s on his feet and moving to the bathroom’s direction in an instant, all sleepiness gone and replaced by the urge to protect and care for his omega.

Well, not that Jack was technically “his”. In spite of his alpha nature constantly telling him how his possessive streaks —when Jack came back home at the end of the day and Hiccup’s scent wasn’t strong enough on him, when strangers touched Jack, when other alphas looked at him hungrily— were completely right and healthy, he couldn’t help the guilt that pooled in the pit of his stomach when his senses came back to him, and like that Hiccup hadn’t claimed a mark on Jack.

It was unheard of, that an alpha wouldn’t claim their partner, but as with so many other things about his life, Hiccup wasn’t exactly normal or gave a fuck about the customary things to do about their society’s dynamics. Many times Hiccup have thought about marking Jack as his forever (or at least until death parted them, because you definitely couldn’t break a soul bonding when there were mayor feelings involved, modern times or not), and the outcome was always the same: he couldn’t claim Jack, he couldn’t turn the easygoing and cheerful boy into a trembling bag of muscle and bones that would obey every single command that was made with his alpha voice, because it wasn’t fair. They were too young, and Jack too much of a free spirit despite the instinctive shyness that came with being an omega, to bond their souls together for the rest of their lives.

That didn’t mean, though, that it was easy for Hiccup to restrain himself from ravishing and marking his boyfriend, oh no. Hiccup’s annual ruts were controllable as long as he was alone, which usually meant that he had to go to a hotel and lock himself there for a week for the sake of his sanity and Jack’s wellbeing. On the other hand, Jack’s trimestral heats were a complete different story. He couldn’t just abandon Jack during his heats —it wasn’t what a good alpha would do; omegas were utterly vulnerable during heats, and a good alpha should ensure their safety at all times, which included from feeding them, to washing them, to pleasuring them to make the whole experience more bearable… and Hiccup wanted to be the best alpha for Jack—.

(The thing was that his boyfriend’s heats had been more violent during the last year for whatever reason, and the biological imperative of bite and suck and mark and scent and claim and mine mine mine had also been more difficult to ignore when Jack was presenting his slicked and very appealing looking butt at him, his scent overly sweet filling the room until it was hard to breathe, moaning wantonly on all fours on their bed, their bed, those lovely blue eyes glazed with tears of sexual frustration, and begging for Hiccup to _knot_ him with his _big alpha cock_ ; and well, Jack was on the pill, and Hiccup was a considerate alpha, but not so considerate, so it had taken every single inch of his will power to not do what his boyfriend was asking him to do and just fuck him senseless onto the mattress instead, but even like that he could never satisfy any of their urges completely.)

These thoughts make something below his belly bottom stir, and his simple cotton pajama pants feel a little tighter, so Hiccup brushes his face with a freckled hand and stares very pointedly at his groin, scolding it somehow, before opening the bathroom’s door to see Jack washing his mouth over the sink, face grayish and eyes dull.

Hiccup hugs him from behind and caresses his neck and shoulders gently, Jack’s back muscles relaxing little by little against his touch even if Hiccup can see his brow furrowed in the mirror. The alpha grazes his nose delicately over the skin of his pale nape, sniffing him, and the action makes Jack’s spine snap tensely like a vice. Hiccup catches trace of something unusual in Jack’s scent, something that wasn’t there before but was too subtle for him to notice, something that doesn’t seem necessarily bad but makes the hairs of the pale boy’s arms stand in nervousness.

The alpha turns the omega in the spot and presses his freckled nose more insistently against the scent gland under Jack’s jaw, licking it afterwards in an attempt to identify the unfamiliar shifting in the other male’s pheromones. Jack whines low in his throat and tries to move away from Hiccup’s grip, but a deep grumble from the taller male —authoritative and respect-inducing, every bit an alpha’s voice, although gentle— stops his fussing. Unsatisfied with his senses of smell and taste, the alpha searches for the omega’s eyes questioningly, but he doesn’t expect to find two tearful pools of blue.

Hiccup takes Jack in his arms and carries him to the bedroom easily, putting him on the bed and fumbling with the hangers on their wardrobe, when he hears Jack’s scared question. “What are you doing?”

"I’m going to take you to the hospital right now. Dress up." He puts a bundle of clothes that at least match next to Jack’s feet on the bed, but the omega just eyes it tiredly.

"I’m okay." Hiccup doesn’t even acknowledge the blatant lie, busying himself on putting on a pair of jeans instead. "Hiccup, listen to me, you’re overreacting."

"I’m overreacting? Jack, you smell different", he spats the last word, furiously putting on a t-shirt and taking on a deep breath to calm himself down, still looking at the wardrobe’s door. "Look, it’s not your fault, okay? I’m not angry, just very worried. You have been vomiting every meal for the last two weeks, you have lost weight, you look sick, and know you’re crying and don’t want to go to the hospital?"

"I’m not sick", Jack murmurs quietly, and it resonates slightly watery on Hiccup’s ears, but when the alpha tries to peek at the omega’s face the other simply shies away. "It’s my fault."

"Jack, dear, it’s okay, just–"

"I’m pregnant, Hiccup."

The bedroom falls in complete silence.

Hiccup’s ears register the sound perfectly clear now that Jack is facing him, but for a tiny moment it’s like the alpha’s brain had shut itself off, or like he didn’t understand English anymore, or like he had been hit on the head with a brick. Hard. “What?”

"I took a test. I’m pregnant." Jack’s voice is oddly steady if you compare it with the uncontrollable shaking that is making his body tremble, but his eyes are still focused on everything except Hiccup’s amazed face. Every time a new word escapes from his mouth his facade crumbles around him. "I… haven’t seen a doctor yet, but… I-I think I have morning sickness… I still don’t know what happened. I’m sorry…"

"Sorry? Jack, you’re pregnant! We’re going to be parents!" As the words hit Jack so does Hiccup’s body, effectively pinning him against the mattress, and the alpha kisses every bit of skin on his face and neck that he has access to, nuzzling him happily, too eager and excited to notice the omega’s tears staining them both.

"So you aren’t angry?"

Hiccup stops his ministrations and stares at the boy in his arms instead, offering him a comforting, always fond smile. “Why would I be angry? I’m a little confused by why didn’t you tell me earlier, but Jack, we’re going to be parents, it’s fantastic! Wait until my parents know, they are going to be thrilled!”

"Hic… I-I don’t know if I want to have it…" The omega’s voice is fragile, and the words too heavy, making Jack choke on them mid-sentence. "I-, we’re so young, and you haven’t claimed me yet… What would people say? What if I’m not a good father?"

"Oh, honey, it’s okay" Hiccup coos him softly, cleaning Jack’s tears with his thumbs. He sighs, his previous smile faltering little by little, and he closes his eyes tightly while scenting Jack’s ears and jaw carefully, tenderly slow, as he reassures him. "I… I know that you’re worried, and it’s a big deal, but I swear that if you want to have the baby everything will be alright. I’ll take care of you two, I promise. And what if I haven’t claimed you? I don’t have any doubts about the baby’s paternity, my love. I don’t care about whatever other people say. I love you, and that’s enough for me."

"I love you too", Jack whimpers quietly against the alpha’s shoulder, too overwhelmed by everything to process it right away.

"Everything is going to be okay, I promise." Hiccup presses a peck on the omega’s pale forehead, rubbing his freckled cheek against it. "Now let’s get you dressed, okay? We should get you checked by a doctor."

Jack simply nods in the crook of Hiccup’s neck, too anxious to let go. 


	6. Day 6: Eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with the omegaverse settled in the previous prompts (Day 4 and 5) because I'm the worst ever. Also I'm calling this affectionately the "Daddy AU" now, sorry.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

"It’s cold", Jack giggles, and Hiccup presses a tender kiss to the top of his head as he watches the doctor on him working with attentive eyes.

Mrs. Rapunzel smiles reassuringly at him while she covers Jack’s flat stomach with a good coating of clear gel. They are currently at the hospital, with Jack laying on his back on a stretcher and Hiccup hovering over him protectively, and the doctor rolls her eyes in acknowledgement. Alphas, she bites down a laugh as the taller man seems to catch her little gesture, looking grumpily at her.

The fact that their assigned doctor resulted to be a woman and a beta made Hiccup feel better, really, so he tries as much as possible to hold down the urge of shielding Jack with with arms and snarl at Mrs. Rapunzel as she does her work. Possessiveness wasn’t going to help with the process of checking Jack and making sure that the smaller boy was alright, so he decides to focus himself on the omega instead.

Jack has his blue eyes glued to the monitor Mrs. Rapunzel is looking at as well, the image mostly a blur of black and grey stains where Hiccup can’t distinguish a single thing, but a feeling of anticipation fill him up from head to toes anyway. The doctor grazes the scanner over Jack’s white belly slowly, spreading the gel over the skin for what appear hours, until she squints at the black screen, finally pointing at something barely visible with a triumphant grin. “There it is. A little baby.”

Hiccup looks to the slightly darker pea-sized figure on the mass of grey for a good long minute, without noticing how his smile is stretching wider and wider over his lips unconsciously. It seemed impossible that tiny thing would eventually grow up and become a baby. Their baby. Hiccup looks at Jack at the thought, only to find the omega’s face glowing in pure wonder, his gaze trained on his belly and his lips parted the littlest bit. The alpha caresses his warm hand over his stomach, completely ignoring the doctor’s presence on the room and the substance under his fingers, and when Jack lifts his head up to look at Hiccup he’s grinning as well, lashes wet with unshed tears. “There’s a baby in here, Hiccup”, he whispers childishly, and the alpha laughs softly at his excitement, nodding and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

The sound of Mrs. Rapunzel clearing her throat breaks their little bubble. “Congratulations”, she says with a fond, sincere grin. Hiccup it’s starting to like her. “Hiccup, please wait in my office while I clean Jack up, okay?”

He’s about to protest firmly, not wanting to go away from Jack’s side, but the omega’s hand squeezing his and  his bright smile distracts him. “Do as Mrs. Rapunzel says, Hic, I’ll be fine with her.”

"Okay, but don’t take too long". He lets go of Jack’s hand with a sigh and another kiss to the forehead, nodding at the beta as he passes by her.

Doctor and patient go into the office roughly five minutes later, and Hiccup is instantly on his feet to help Jack take a sit in front of the wooden desk there. “Hic, I’m fine, you act like I’m on my seventh month already”, the omega mocks him with a chuckle, even if deep inside he’s thrilled by the gesture.

"I’m sorry, just not taking any risks", he stutters in a low tone, a sheepish smile appearing on his face despite the faint blush covering his cheeks.

"Take a seat, please", Mrs. Rapunzel eyes the pair fondly before focusing on the screen of the computer on her desk. "Jack, I’ll have to ask you a few questions about the pregnancy. You don’t have to be nervous, but please try to answer them as accurately as possible. Are you ready?"

Jack nods his head a little shyly at first, seeming dubious, before feeling Hiccup taking a hold on his hand and kissing its knuckles softly to give him courage. He takes a deep breath. “Okay.”

The doctor fires her questions one by one, and during the whole time she lets Jack enough time to think about his response and encourages him with a gentle expression, typing some of the words on her computer at given moments. Hiccup rubs his knuckles and the back of his pale wrist with his thumb quietly, listening intently at the conversation and comforting Jack with his silent support.

"Very well, that was the last one". Mrs. Rapunzel types for a long minute after that, and then turns completely to look at the pair. "From what you have told me, probably your stress over college lately could have interfered with the effectiveness of your pills. Even if you have taken them correctly, sometimes other factors can mess with your body and make the piles loose efficacy. It isn’t exactly usual, but always a possibility. And if you add having your heat in the middle of it all into the equation…" Jack blushes bright red and turns his head to glare at Hiccup, who’s hiding his smile behind a fake cough next to him. Her voice sounds suddenly serious, making her seem much older. "According to it, you are roughly ten weeks pregnant right now, give or take one week. You should have come earlier to be checked, when you noticed the first signs of the morning sickness… I can give you just one week to make your decision, do you understand?"

Upon entering the clinic and talking to Mrs. Rapunzel for the first time, Jack had told her that he still wasn’t sure about having the baby. There was still a lot to consider, a lot to take in and a lot to think about, and Hiccup and him haven’t discussed it enough yet, but…

But Jack looks at his alpha in that moment, and he can’t deny the feeling that fills him when he smiles hopefully at him like that. “That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Rapunzel. I want to have it.”

And if Hiccup jumps off his seat and kisses him as passionately as if he was into rut, he can’t blame him, even if the doctor’s giggle make his ears go red in embarrassment.


	7. Day 7: Family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with the Daddy AU (omegaverse: previous drabbles on Day 4, 5 and 6) because I'm trash.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

"So, uh…  _We’re expecting_?”  
  
The moment those words escape Jack’s mouth, the members of his family leave their teacups on the coffee table, instantly standing up to hug him and Hiccup tightly as they recite a myriad of excited questions and exclamations.

  
Jack’s nervous smile turns into a relieved grin in Valka’s arms, the woman’s warm and open grin calming him down nearly as much as her son’s same expression, and Stoick pats his shoulder carefully, minding his usual strength for the baby’s sake.  
  
Hiccup isn’t that lucky, though, and Jack laughs heartily when he catches a glimpse of his uncle Aster mockingly roughhousing him, his father North patting his back with much more force that what his father-in-law used on himself, and his aunt Ana trying to calm the two men down and congratulate Hiccup at the same time.  
  
They are all too distracted to notice Sandy, his other uncle, approaching Jack and being the first one to hug him. Valka laughs loudly, a hand holding her stomach, when the other adults groan and whine childishly “ _That’s not fair!_ " and " _Sandy ya’ sneaky bastard!_ " at the mute man, who simply sticks his tongue at them in a triumphant gesture.  
  
Roughly two hours later, when the last of the tea and cake has been consumed, and the adults’ questions have been answered, and they are all already gone —but not before pocking Jack and patting Hiccup’s back endlessly, promising to come back soon—, the omega sighs tiredly at the closed door, resting his forehead against the wood there for a minute.  
  
He listens to the clicking sound of the teacups and trays being carried to the tiny apartment’s kitchen, then faint footsteps against the floor, and finally Hiccup’s sniffing over the nape of his neck as the alpha caresses his stomach and hips with warm freckled hands.  
  
It has passed another two weeks since their visit to the doctor, and Jack’s baby bump was just starting to be first noticeable, although it was mostly because the skin of his low abdomen was softening slowly, much to his distress and Hiccup’s joy.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Honestly? Tired", he murmurs with a chuckle, and then gasps quietly when the brunet hooks his arms under his knees and back and lifts him in the air bridal style, making him giggle.  
  
"I think a nap is in order then", the alpha deposits him ever carefully on the mattress, and then lays his body next to Jack before pulling the duvet over the two of them.  
  
"How are  _you_ feeling?” Jack scoots closer with a yawn, pressing his cheek against Hiccup’s chest and relaxing immediately with the rhythm of his mate’s heartbeat under the flesh.  
  
"Honestly? Edgy", both of them giggle at that, and Hiccup presses a kiss to Jack’s temple with his eyes closed. The alpha nuzzles every inch of the omega’s pale skin tenderly, from his ears, to his brows, to his nose and jaw, to the whole expanse of his neck, scenting him with his own smell and sighing contentedly when his smell is finally the strongest on his mate’s body. Jack pecks him on the lips with a tiny smile, hooded eyes heavy with sleepiness. "Even if they are family, there were too many different scents, and I’m not accustomed yet, you know?"  
  
” _'S okay_ ”, Jack yawns again, bumping his nose against Hiccup’s neck. “I feel a little bit the same, too.”  
  
"So now you’re getting all territorial on me?" Jack lifts his head to look at him, finding a smug smile plastered on Hiccup’s face, and the omega snorts at it.  
  
” _'There's nothing more protective of his mate and babies than a pregnant omega'_ ”, he recites by heart, making Hiccup chuckle and nod. “It’s from the book Mrs. Rapunzel recommended us at the clinic. You should do your daddy homework, you’re supposed to be the responsible one of the two.”  
  
Hiccup nips at his nose playfully, hugging the omega closer to his chest and finally setting to sleep. “I promise to study a little when we wake up.”  
  
"And also prepare me pancakes."  
  
The alpha laughs quietly at the command, choosing not to point the fact that it would be a bit late for pancakes after their nap. “Pancakes. Noted.”


	8. Day 9: Gamble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't write anything for Day 8 because it was a free day and I was on a trip, sorry. Anyways, slightly nsfw for mild violence and cursing. Also mentions of sex.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

Jack eyes the fresh bruises on the paleness of his neck with a scowl on his mouth: four long fingers printed on his left side, and one thumb painting the skin purple over the column of his throat. He takes a tiny palette of concealers on one of his hands and a brush on the other, and starts the slow process of covering the marks.

He decides to put on a black lace choker over his work, the added cloth helping him disguise the remaining of the bruises almost perfectly. Despite being hurt he can’t help smiling a little at the rest of his outfit, one of his favorites, consisting on high-wasted panties reaching up to his belly button, a garter leather belt crisscrossing over his stomach and the panties hugging his hips, and long sheer stockings attachable to the belt on the front and back of his thighs. All purely black and shockingly polished over the expanse of marble of his body.

Jack comes out of his changing room barefoot except for the silky nylon covering his legs and moves through a maze of corridors only illuminated by red lightbulbs. He arrives at his destination and reaches for the heavy velvet curtain separating him from the men standing at the other side.

The poor youth’s excited half-smile falls to the floor when he can’t find a pair of warm green eyes between the group of roughly ten men in the room. He thinks about turning around and going back to his room when two cold golden orbs pierce his very soul, and Jack knows there’s no escape as he approaches the wide armchair where his boss is currently seating in.

The boy sits reluctantly over the older man’s lap, wanting to crawl out of his skin when Pitch places a hand over the lower of his back and scratches painfully there. The other males in the room sit as well, but around a table, while his boss nods quietly to the croupier to hand them their cards while the men put out various rolls of money. There’s an empty chair there, and the teenager squirms a little to get a better view at the door with hopeful eyes.

Suddenly a young man enters the room, green gaze locking with Jack’s blue one for just a second, before sitting in the empty space at the table. The boy smiles relieved, but flinches when his boss digs one nail against one of his hips.

"That last gentleman is becoming a regular. Tell me, are you picking up any favorites, my pet?"

Jack wants to throw up at Pitch’s mockingly sweet tone. The older man hooks a leather leash to the back of his choker, giving it a demanding tug when Jack takes too long to reply. “Of course not. Just glad the table is full. More players, more money”, he whispers boringly, and maybe if his boss didn’t know him as well as he does he’d have swallowed the lie.

"I _hope_ so, little Jackie. After all, you’re just a prize. You’re an expensive whore, but a  _whore_   _nonetheless_ ”, Pitch positively snarls in his ear, his hawk eyes never leaving the green eyed man sitting at the table as he grips Jack’s neck and squeezes it, making him wheeze in pain. “Now be a good boy and show a smile to the clients.”

Jack holds back his tears and stays quiet and still during the whole round, cold like a china doll on Pitch’s lap even if the constant looks of the green gentleman stirs to life the nerves of every pore on his skin. After almost two long hours of waiting that man finally shows his last hand with a discreet smirk, and Pitch tugs on Jack’s leash so the boy follows him as all the players stand up.

"I hope you enjoy your prize, sir", his boss hands the leash to the winning gentleman with a false amicable grin.

The green eyed man simply nods at Pitch, then gives a soft tug at Jack’s choker and gestures the pale teenager to walk with him.

A maid is waiting for them at the door to take them to another room, and the young boy tries to not appear too excited about it as they are guided through more corridors, more illuminated than the ones that lead to Jack’s changing room, soft and probably very expensive rugs tickling the underside of his feet. When they reach their designated room for the night the maid leaves with a light bow, and the freckled gentleman makes him enter before closing the door behind them.

Just a few seconds pass before his mouth is covering Jack’s own in a languid kiss that makes the pale teen’s knees go weak, and a pair of lean arms circles his narrow waist to support him. “Hiccup”, Jack moans quietly in the crook of the other man’s neck, his hands resting on his chest, “when I entered the room and you weren’t there… I thought you wouldn’t come tonight”.

"I’m sorry snowflake, something came up", Hiccup flashes him an apologetic smile, "but I promised I would come every night, didn’t I?", he whispers over his lips, warm hands caressing his barely clothed hips. "You look so beautiful… I’ve missed you."

Jack almost melts at the shushed words, and the honesty behind them. Every since the first day Hiccup made his promise, he had never failed to it. Every night he would come to the cathouse and win the poker game in which Jack was the prize, to later make love to him: not using him for his own needs like the other clients Before him, but pleasuring Jack too, always grazing his body with feathery touches, always praising him with sweet nothings on his ears… Always making him feel special. Never making him feel like a whore. “If you have missed me so much, then why don’t you do something about it?”

The freckled man doesn’t need further invitation to kiss him again, ever careful and soft, and Jack can’t be more grateful for it.

He may be falling in love.


	9. Day 10: Hooligan & Day 12: Jokes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why I decided that this was a good idea, but have some college AU with the boys being angry ice hockey players and messing around in the locker room after a big misunderstanding.
> 
> Warnings for violence, cursing, terrible clothed sex and a lot of angst. Also poorly written. Sorry.
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> \- Caliope.

The first time Jack snapped at Dagur was during one of their previous games, after the fucking asshole whispered something in the pale player’s ear that none of his teammates could hear, and Jack tackled him to the ground and made him shut up punch after punch.

That first time, the raging fury that showed openly on Jack’s face froze Hiccup to the bone, standing in the ice-ring. He couldn’t move; he didn’t even heard their coach yelling at him to separate them. Sadly, the image it’s so usual by now in every game the Hooligans play against the Bersekers that it merely draws an angry curse from the former team’s leader, and Hiccup feels disgusted by it. He feels disgusted by himself.

Hiccup is a pacifist. It’s one of the main reasons why he doesn’t like ice hockey in the first place; it’s one of the main topics his father and him used to fight about before he grew up some muscle and finally joined the fucking team Stoick coached; it’s why he almost cried the first time he saw Jack being patched up after one of his stupid struggles with Dagur.

Hiccup is also a wonderful strategist. It’s one of the main reasons why his team is doing its best game so far; it’s one of the main reasons why Stoick doesn’t scream at him anymore and instead asks him for his opinion about the Hooligans’ tactics; and it’s why he can figure from a mile away that Dagur is making Jack angry on purpose.

He can’t figure how, though.

_"Frost, fucking stop! Let him go! Frost, let him fucking go! Jackson! Jackson! Somebody move him out of the way!"_

Jack was in the box keeping a ten-minute penalty barely five seconds ago, and Hiccup’s dizzy mind can’t really tell how he got out of it so fast. He tries to breathe through his nose, but something wet and uncomfortable and tasting faintly of metal prevents him from continuing, and Hiccup takes a big gulp of air through his mouth before dragging his body over the ice to the form of Jack and Dagur still fussing on the floor.

The piercing sound of the referee’s whistle makes him look upwards. Both team’s players are hitting each other around them. The turmoil also starts to seep in the audience, and too soon the stadium is a fucking disaster of enraged screams and bad-aimed kicks, and then the paramedics and the security team arrive and the game is cancelled.

Everybody has gone home when Hiccup finally enters the changing room. Jack is the only one there, a split bottom lip and swollen right eye on his face. Dagur was so much worse; they had to take him to the hospital. But Jack smiles at him like nothing had happened, and something dangerous and violent boils in Hiccup’s chest.

Because Jack hasn’t smiled at him in three months, and Hiccup doesn’t like that this smug grin is the first one he’s giving him in such a long time. Hiccup is a pacifist, but he’s also tired of this shit they’re pulling at each other.

So he pushes Jack against one of the lockers, the impact resonating through the empty cold corridors, and punches him on the chin, hard. That fucking carefree smile falls from Jack’s mouth in an instant, and before any of them can really understand what they are doing they are bitting at each other’s hands on the floor and kicking at all their tender spots.

Hiccup is scared, because he doesn’t know how to stop. Jack is scared, too, but because he has never seen Hiccup like this, gorgeous green eyes filled with pure distress and aimed at him. Jack stops fighting; he stops moving and instead takes Hiccup’s wrists in his hands and holds the other teen against his chest.

And Hiccup is yelling at him, cursing him through clenched teeth and spiting whatever words he can think of that he knows will hurt Jack, because it’s too much and he’s not thinking and… And then his throat is too sore to scream anymore and he’s panting quietly against a pale neck.

“ _Why_?” He doesn’t even recognize his own voice, and he doesn’t even understand his own question. But Jack caresses his freckled nape with trembling fingers, and it seems like he does.

"Do you remember that afternoon, three months ago, when I…" Hiccup almost stops breathing, too focused in the painful whisper that comes out of Jack. White dyed hair tickles his freckled cheeks and bloody nose when Jack shakes his head, as if trying to shake the memory away. "Dagur saw us."

It hurts Jack to ask Hiccup if he remembers, because he certainly does. He remembers the softness of Hiccup’s lips against his own perfectly; he remembers his deep rich taste when their tongues lapped at each other deliciously slow; he remembers Hiccup’s hands fisted in the front of his sweaty t-shirt, pulling him closer… to only push him back seconds after, panicked eyes and apologetic words escaping him, embarrassment covering his features. And Jack could only stare at him as Hiccup took his things and left the locker room in a hurry. As he left a heartbroken Jack behind him without a second thought.

Jack remembers so well that kiss because Hiccup’s mouth has been one of the only three things he has thought about for the last three months. The second thing was how he had completely fucked up their friendship. The third thing was a way to fix it.

Because, fuck, Jack didn’t even know if Hiccup liked boys when he stole that kiss from him. He didn’t even asked him about his feelings. He simply followed a stupid impulse and hoped that it would be enough for his friend to love him back.

Clearly it wasn’t.

But now Hiccup lifts his head from the crook of his neck and looks at him with those pools of green water, and Jack can’t remember any of the words, any of the speeches he practiced alone in his room for when the time of explaining everything to the other boy came.

"Jack…"

"I know you hated it, and I’m sorry, I swear! I know that you don’t feel the same and I’m fucking sorry but he’s been teasing me with it in the ring and I just can’t control myself— and, today… I was in the fucking box and I saw how he jumped on you on purpose, and you were bleeding, you were hurt because of—"

Hiccup smashes their lips together and Jack hiss with the motion. He knows it would hurt even if his bottom lip wasn’t split. This kiss is messy and bruising, it makes his mouth swollen with the pressure and force Hiccup is putting into it, and when Jack opens his lips to ease a bit of the pain away the brunet over him coaxes his tongue out of the cavity and sucks greedily on it, his teeth scrap at the corners of Jack’s mouth, and then he bites on Hiccup’s tongue because his cut is bleeding again and the freckled fucker is trying to lick the oozing liquid out of the wound.

He moans deep in his throat when Hiccup pushes his hips down against the bulge in his pants and his own erection presses against it, the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach starting to be too much. Jack grasps two handfuls of the brunet’s butt and helps him with the movement, Hiccup then having the decency of adding to Jack’s sounds with some shuddered curses and breathless groans, and everything goes downhill from there.

Their lack of restrain is embarrassing as they dry-hump each other on the tile floor of the locker room, moaning loudly and sucking on their tongues in a frenzy of the anger and sadness and bad blood that had formed between them during those last three months, but neither Hiccup nor Jack can bring themselves to care when their orgasm finally hits them and makes a mess of cold cum and trembling limbs off the two teammates.

They lay on the floor quietly for a few minutes, catching their breath back and shivering when they come down from their rush.

"I know we weren’t on the best terms lately, but you should have told me", Hiccup is the first one to speak, eyes trained on Jack’s collarbone despite his words being sure. "I’m your captain. I would have made him stop."

Jack tries to push him out of him, angry hands turning into fists. “‘Best terms?’ You fleeted after responding to my kiss. I think that was embarrassment enough, you fucking asshole.”

"Jack, look at me", Hiccup is the one holding his wrists now, severe green orbs boring into his skull and shining with something he can’t decipher. "I was scared, okay? You fucking scared me. I needed some time to think, and then you started acting weird and throwing angry fits at the air and I didn’t know what to make out of it. You can’t simply go kissing your friends like that, you dimwit."

"But—"

"No, let me finish", the pale boy pouts at the interruption, but shuts up nonetheless, being happy enough for having an actual conversation with his best friends in such a long time. "I didn’t know what it meant. I thought you were messing around with me like you do sometimes with Aster or another of the boys; that it was some kind of cruel joke." Hiccup shakes his head with a trembling sigh, and Jack really, really wants to hug him. "I-I don’t even know what I like anymore, and it’s all your fucking fault… I thought I was into girls and I’m almost sure that I don’t like men, but I certainly like you because I couldn’t stop thinking about your stupid kiss all this time, and God, I was so confused… And after all that shit look at us!"

Jack has to laugh a little at the offended gesture Hiccup makes in their pant’s direction, freckled cheeks lovely blushed over. He is blushing, too, but also melting against the warmth of his captain’s body and the vulnerability in Hiccup’s furrowed brow. “I’m so sorry, Hic… It felt right at the moment, you know?”

"Well, it wasn’t", Hiccup smiles shyly upon hearing the nickname, sounding lovely after three months without it, and lowers his head to press a languid kiss on the lips of a very thrilled Jack. "But it surely feels right now."

And as Jack tangles his fingers in chestnut locks of hair to pull Hiccup down again he knows everything will be okay.


	10. Day 11: Illness.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Posting the remaining prompts of HMM super late, but I've been busy and I finally finished them only yesterday!
> 
> Continuation of the daddy!AU (aka chapters 4 to 7).
> 
> \- Caliope.

To say that Hiccup is starting to be worried about Jack is an understatement.

The alpha hears a raspy cough coming from the bedroom and his feet are going towards the sound before he can even register the movement. Thankfully, he stops in his tracks in the middle of the corridor, and turns around to go back to the kitchen.

Jack is angry with him, and Hiccup can’t tell anymore if it is because of the mood swings of the pregnancy or, as Jack had yelled at him earlier, because  _‘he is treating him like he was some kind of children’_  when the omega  _'can perfectly take care of himself’_  and  _'doesn’t need a mother hen following him around all the freaking day’_.

The thing is that, effectively,  _maybe_  Hiccup has been a little too overprotective of the paler male lately, but that was exactly what he was intended to do, wasn’t it? Alphas usually were guarding of their mates, it was in their blood to do so, it was a biological impulse that sometimes was unreasonable but at the same time inevitable… And now that instinct was kicking Hiccup in the gut harder than ever, because he was supposed to pamper his mate and be defensive of him, because Jack was currently pregnant for God’s sake, he was carrying Hiccup’s baby and he couldn’t be asking for his alpha to  _'leave him the fuck alone’_.

Well, he  _could_ because he  _has already done it_ , which it’s why Hiccup is in the kitchen gripping the edge of counter with claw-like fingers instead of helping Jack with that coughing fit that has every muscle in the alpha’s body tense and about to pounce on the first thing that unluckily stood in front of him.   

The fact that male omegas’ pregnancies were way far more dangerous than female omegas’ ones —Mrs. Rapunzel has stated that much during their last visit to her clinic— didn’t help to calm down Hiccup’s nerves, either. The freckled male is carrying nowadays one of those parenthood books for alphas everywhere, and he takes every moment of his free time when he isn’t working or tending to Jack to read it over and over again, the corners of the poor manual bend over and torn around the edges even if Hiccup bought it just a month ago.

The book has been really useful so far, helping him to understand the development of the baby currently growing inside Jack’s body, as well as with his mate’s morning sickness, or to sum it up, giving him every possible idea to make the pregnancy all the more bearable for the omega. But the book doesn’t explain a single thing about his mate suddenly being frustrated about his cuddling or downright being furious at everything his alpha did, and Hiccup hasn’t ever felt more like a kicked puppy in his whole life.   

According to the doctor, Jack should gain at least between twenty and thirty pounds for the baby to be healthy, and he wasn’t getting remotely near that because of his constant fatigue and refusal to eat most of the things he used to have before the pregnancy. On top of that, he couldn’t rest properly because he used to sleep on his stomach and he couldn’t do that anymore for obvious reasons, which meant that he usually spent half of the night tussling over the sheets and trying to find a comfortable position, and the other half finally sleeping but too poorly to really count. Due to all this, the omega was completely drained of energy and too tired to go to college most days, so Hiccup tried his best to make the better out of the situation and cheer him up… without apparent result.

A dark thought creeps into his mind then, and the alpha shakes his head to erase it away. But, what if Jack doesn’t want to have the baby anymore? What if he pressured the omega with his excitement and he didn’t want the baby from the very beginning..? He doesn’t know what to do. He thinks about calling his mom for advice, but he’s too embarrassed to do so, a bit of the damned alphas’ pride still nagging at the back of his skull.

Something furry and warm presses against Hiccup’s good ankle, and the alpha kneels to the floor to pet Toothless’ ears with a sigh, the cat noticing his despair and purring on his owner’s hands almost questioningly.

A sniffling sound takes him out of his musings, and when he identifies it just a moment after as Jack crying he runs to the bedroom without further consideration. The image he finds positively rips Hiccup’s heart in two: Jack was looking in the door’s direction even before the alpha appeared through it, those lovely blue eyes completely wet and red-rimmed as much as his tiny nose, distraught tears falling freely down his flushed cheeks and bottom lip quivering slightly.

When he finally enters the room, Jack lifts his two arms in a silent petition, and Hiccup is on him in less than a second, warm freckled arms hugging him against his chest and rocking him back and forth in his embrace. He cradles him until Jack’s sobbing turns into an almost inaudible hiccups, and then presses a peck on his furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you”, the alpha looks down at the omega’s pouting face, finding a mix of shame and sadness there, “it’s just that I’m hungry and nauseous and tired and angry, all at the same time, and I don’t know why”, Jack starts crying again, harder this time, and Hiccup still doesn’t know what to do. He feels useless. “I’m sorry, Hic.”

“I’m sorry too, Jack. I’m sorry for everything”, he sighs defeteadly.


	11. Day 13 & 14: Keepsake & Laugh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmates AUs are perfect for unnecessary angst. That said, this has bits and pieces of several AUs, so please if you read it and have any doubts about what happened (aka you didn’t understand a thing, which it’s perfectly okay), you can message me to clear everything out, because my writing skills are terrible and this sucks.
> 
> Also, no warnings apply.
> 
> \- Caliope.

“Could you please put these in the garage?” Jack offers him a tired smile over his shoulder, and well, there’s no way Hiccup could deny the pale boy a single thing when he’s looking at him like that.

“Sure”, he takes two of the boxes in his hands easily, even maneuvering them to press a kiss on Jack’s temple, who leans on the contact ever-so-slightly but not presses it further. That doesn’t stop him from giving a low groan. They have been at this for hours, and something so simple as just pecking his boyfriend on the lips would certainly distract them enough to forget about their current work and wake up tomorrow morning with still half of Jack’s boxes piling on the house’s floor. “When we’re done I’ll make us some lemonade and you can cool off under the blower”, Hiccup suggests, moving in the garage’s direction.

“I should have known that moving in the middle of July would be a bad idea, it’s way too warm”, Jack shrugs, opening another box and looking at its contents. “Marking them with a pen before closing them would have been nice, too”, he calls with a pout, and then hears the brunet’s laugh from the other side of the house, not bothered at all by their little predicament. He goes back to the task at hand. The box is one of Hiccup’s, neatly filled to the brim with sketchbooks and art material, and he’s about to move it aside when something catches his attention.

Hidden under some pencil cases and inks, the sunlight reflects on something that shines almost golden, and Jack takes content after content of the box carefully until he finds what seems to be a very old photo-album.

The leather of the book is hand-dyed, or at least looks like it, the royal blue surface worn by time and faded in some patches. The spine of the book is decorated with beautifully carved frost patterns, and later covered in metallic silver and white paint, almost bringing them to life. Jack grazes his hand over the magnificent artwork almost reverently, and a bolt of coldness shots up his spine, leaving him breathless and shivering all over his body.

His fingers grasps the cover’s edge.

He feels an unreasonable necessity to open the album.

Then Toothless appears out of nowhere and jumps on it, going as far as scratching Jack’s hand, and effectively making the pale man launch the black cat and the book flying to the living room’s floor.

The album lands with a soft  _thud_  over its spine, and then the pages open themselves in a fan, and a sudden snowstorm starts in the middle of the room.

Hiccup comes running through the corridor and crosses the door, calling for Jack and trying to reach to him, but  _Jack can’t see him_ ,  _Jack can’t hear him_ , too enthralled by the feeling of the Northern Wind on his face, and the burning sensation of pure ice coming out of his fingers, and the frost clinging onto him for dear life.

Then (and even before that, even before the Wind) came the laugh of a freckled boy with big green eyes, but now he grew up to be a young man, and Jack remembered his tears falling over the young man’s body and the scorching heat of the green eyed man’s scaly companion curling around them both and  _mourning_.

Then came solitude, and the colors and noises and scents of places he didn’t remember, of people he didn’t really know, the longing feeling of  _belonging_ to somewhere, to  _someone_ , and then a flicker of hope after looking into the familiar spark of a baby’s eyes. Then came determination, and there was plenty of that, and then there was young men, a lot of them along the decades, but all with the same green eyes and crooked smile and the lovely laugh… Then happiness and pain melted in a blur, mixed with realization, during years.

In the end, there was rage. And a ripping need of protection. But there was also fear. So, so much fear, and power, and… the metallic taste of blood on his mouth, and blood  _everywhere_ , and a young man with green eyes crying over his body.

_Visions playing before his eyes like a movie._

_Memories of his past lives surrounding him._

The storms dies out. Hiccup finally is able to reach him, and it feels almost like a dream. There’s no snow in the floor, but Jack can still feel its coldness sipping to the center of his bones and the dampness in his clothes.

Hiccup hugs the tight ball of a trembling mess he’s turned into, and Jack drinks into his warmth and the strength and reassurance of his embrace, and it’s right.  _It’s like it’s meant to be like this._

“Hiccup?” He whispers, because something tells him that raising his voice would be dangerous now, and when the other man lifts his head to look at him Jack sees him, but he also sees other Hiccups there — _babies, kids, teenagers, men_ —. His head is spinning. He has so many questions, but he can’t bring himself to voice any of them, and—

“Jack, do you remember the Moon?” Hiccup questions back, that tingle of pure hope Bunny taught Jack to distinguish, and oh Gods, _Bunny_ —

Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, North. Pitch Black. The Man in the Moon.

Hiccup, the dragon master, the pride of Berk. Toothless, the Night Fury. The Alphas.

Jackson Overland. Jack Frost. Jokul Frosti.

Jack doesn’t seem to notice it, but he’s remembering everything out loud, and Hiccup’s eyes are filled with unshed tears.

After all the anguish, after all this time guarding Jack’s very  _core_  with the aching faith that they could be together,  _consciously together again_ , just like the Moon promised them…

At last, he’s coming home.


	12. Day 16: Moist.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I suck at smut and basically everything, so I formally apologize for this crap. Sorry. Continuing with the daddy!AU (chapters 4-7 & 11).
> 
> Warnings for sex and a bit of language.
> 
> \- Caliope.

It’s hot in the room, and the air smells sickly sweet.

There’s something more hanging there, something Hiccup can’t identify until he hears a muffled whimper, followed by a shallow breath and the sound of something wet.

He opens their bedroom’s door slowly to find Jack’s body sprawled messily on their bed, face hidden against the pillow and beads of sweat rolling down his back and nape. When Jack turns to look at him, his pupils are blown, blue eyes an insignificant ring around that piercing darkness.

Hiccup doesn’t notice it, but his green eyes have turned like that, too. He’s enthralled by the way Jack’s chest rises with his painful breathing, with the perfect shape of his lips as he pants on the mattress. He inches closer to the other boy agonizingly slow, stalking him as he circles the bed the way a predator would around its prey. The smell is stronger now.

Jack is practically sobbing by now, muscles tight with the pressure he’s unconsciously applying on them, ready to snap with a vicious yelp as soon as Hiccup merely brushes him with a fingertip. Instead, the brunet shushes him tenderly, grazing a soothing palm — _but it’s hot for Jack, it’s too hot on his skin_ — over his navel, lifting the t-shirt he’s wearing with his knuckles and earning some goosebumps in the process. Jack mewls at the hurtful yet needed contact.

There’s a darker patch in the front of Jack’s pants, and its back is almost completely obscured by his leaking arousal. Hiccup takes a shuddering breath at the view, trying to remain in control — _of himself, his instincts, of Jack, of the whole situation_ —. He takes his clothes off first, knowing that it’ll be easier that way for the both of them.

Jack shots longing arms upwards upon seeing the taut freckled skin of Hiccup’s stomach, aching to touch it, but the brunet shushes him again and catches his wrists in a careful grip. Jack exposes his neck submissively at the clear show of dominance, and oh, Hiccup knows he shouldn’t like manhandling the other boy like this so much, but he can blame it on his current predicament.

Jack gasps breathlessly when Hiccup yanks him out of his t-shirt, and then squirms as the taller man pulls his pants down, the soft material of his pajama pants brushing his member making him tremble in pleasure.

The scent increases by tenfold with Jack’s body now naked, and Hiccup can barely stand it. Jack sprawls his long legs wide around the brunet’s knees, offering himself to him. Hiccup presses one of his dextrous hands to a bony hip, the other one caressing a creamy thigh with a calloused thumb, drinking in the beauty of having Jack like this.

Hiccup bends between Jack’s ankles and licks one long strip, from the boy’s knee to his groin, and he almost loses it then and there, the smell clouding his mind to an addictive and dangerous edge. He knows Jack doesn’t need further preparation; the omega’s slick is more than enough to keep everything moist between them, and with Jack whimpering urgently like that for him to hurry up, begging him to fuck him and end with the heat that’s consuming him… Seeing Jack so vulnerable… Hiccup pushes into the other boy with a raspy breath and hooded eyes.

He starts to move immediately, finding a safe yet satisfying rhythm for them both, enjoying the enticing way in which Jack moves his hips to meet him halfway his thrusts and clings to his back, scratching with blunt nails red lines that sting with the sweat covering their bodies. Jack mewls against his jaw, the sound making him shiver and calling for his most brutal side to take over him, before whispering in his ear.

“I don’t want the baby”.

Hiccup stops instantly, a sudden cold ripping through his body, but when he tries to look at Jack’s face the omega turns them on the bed and straddles his hips forcefully, and his face is a mask of bliss despite his words. “You didn’t knot me while you could, and instead got me pregnant.” The brunet tries to move away from his boyfriend, finding all his strength and his voice gone. Jack keeps riding him, almost painfully, murmuring hurtful truths against his ears. “I’m ashamed of calling you my mate. You’re not an alpha. What kind of alpha wouldn’t mark his omega? I don’t want to carry the children of a scum like you. You ruined my life.”

Jack kisses him gently, but his eyes are dark. “I  _hate_  you, Hiccup.”

*

Hiccup wakes up with the sound of his own violent heartbeat pounding into his skull, and for a moment he’s terrified.

Jack is sleeping on his side facing him, his swollen belly showing just slightly through the hem of one of the alpha’s t-shirts. He’s four months pregnant now, and his baby bump is just starting to be noticeable against his skinny body.

Hiccup presses a trembling hand over it, and for the first time in years, he cries.


	13. Day 17: Neglect.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with the daddy!AU (chapters 4-7, 11 & 16), because I can fit almost every prompt in this AU, sorry.
> 
> Also, there’s some of my Valka appreciation and stalka love thrown in here too. No warnings apply.
> 
> \- Caliope.

“So tell me, dear, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

Jack stops looking through the window and instead turns to look at Valka, who’s putting a warm mug of some weird herbal tea in front of him and taking a seat at the other end of the tiny kitchen table. It’s so ridiculously small that the omega thinks about Stoick actually sitting at it, and a smile pulls at the corners of his lips.

“C’mon Jack, I know you since you were just a little pup convincing Hiccup to sneak the cookie jar out of the kitchen”, Jack rolls his eyes good-naturedly at the reminder and Valka simply laughs heartily at his blush. “Besides, mothers have a sixth sense. That, or the fact that you look terrible, and my son positively miserable. So tell me, what’s wrong?”

There are a lot of things that Jack likes about Valka. For example, how she always got to the point, her jovial personality, her ability to make a stuttering mess of even the proudest alphas (which included, of course, Hiccup and Stoick)… She also made the best chocolate chip cookies, Jack’s favorites, and ever since North and him moved next to the Haddock’s house more than fifteen years ago, she always treated him like a son, which was more than Jack could have ever asked for. Valka was an amazing woman, and an amazing omega as well, and sometimes Jack wished he could be a bit more like her.

He takes a sip of the strange beverage without looking at the cookie plate between them in the table, too nauseous because of the pregnancy to risk it and eat one. In the comfort of the cozy kitchen, Jack looks through the window again. Hiccup is in the garden, wearing just a dirty white t-shirt covering his torso despite the crisp December air. Stoick wants to build a pond for Valka’s birthday, and is taking advantage of their visit to put his son’s hands to good use. When Jack thinks about Stoick and Valka, the first word he associates with them is “love”, and he can’t help but wonder if his biological parents loved themselves, or him, once.

Probably not.

“Last night I woke up, and Hiccup was crying and touching my belly”, he murmurs still not looking in Valka’s direction, caressing his baby bump with a warm palm. “I tried to ask him about it, but he wouldn’t say anything, and… Some days ago I yelled at him some things I shouldn’t have said, and I think I may have hurt him more than he shows.”

She makes a noncommittal sound, but her furrow is burrowed. “What did you told him?”

“I was frustrated about the pregnancy. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I’m feeling more and more tired by the second, and Hiccup wouldn’t stop trying to make me feel better about it… But I was angry, and I snapped at him, told him to leave me alone…” Jack takes a sip of his drink to calm his nerves a little. He wants to cry, but he doesn’t think he can blame it on the hormones. “I’m a terrible person.”

“Oh, my dear boy”, Valka gasps quietly, brushing a bony hand to one of his trembling cheeks. “It was just a misunderstanding. You’ll have to face plenty of those, there’s no need to worry about it as long as you do your best to try and solve them.” She smiles sweetly at him, motherly so, and Jack smiles back a little. “That reminds me a lot of Stoick and myself during my own pregnancy.”

“Stoick and you?” Jack looks incredulously at her, and Valka laughs loudly, gripping her stomach with one hand.

“Of course! We used to bicker about the silliest things! Stoick was way too overprotective, too careful around me, like I was made of glass… It’s not surprising that Hiccup is like that as well”, she huffs with a grin, and Jack can relate to everything. “The thing is, Jack, that you can’t ask him to neglect his instincts. It’s the alpha imperative, after all. They treat their mates like they were damsels in distress, but they have good intentions. They do it because they love us.”

“Actually, Hiccup and I, w-we aren’t mated, y-you know? He hasn’t marked me… yet”, Jack stutters his confession, too embarrassed by the fact that he’s discussing such important matters —sexual matters, dammit— with his mother-in-law.

“I know, honey”, she says it like it isn’t a big deal, when in fact it is. It’s a very big deal, at least for an omega. Being marked implies that the alpha bounds themselves to their omega, that they choose them as their mate and that they are united for the rest of their lives. It’s a show of compromise. “And I also know for a fact that my son sees you as his mate, there’s no doubt in that, but he has his reasons for not marking you.”

“I’m glad to hear that”, he murmurs a bit too sarcastically, and bites his tongue instantly. He looks at Valka with apologetic eyes. “Sorry.”

“Jack, listen to me for a moment.” The woman pats his free hand tenderly, and speaks very slow, as if she was trying to explain something difficult to a very little child. “I know that the lack of a mark worries you because of your biological parent’s… relationship, and I know that Hiccup probably feels a bit lost about what to do right now… So, I think that what you two need is to sit down with something warm to drink, and have a long conversation, just like you just did with me. Okay?”

“Yeah, solving misunderstandings and all that jazz”, he jokes, and Valka nods her head affirmatively in satisfaction.

“Exactly. Now, you’re not putting on enough weight, and I think I may have the perfect remedy for both your nausea and your appetite.”

*

Hiccup enters the kitchen a couple of hours later, still clad in his dirty t-shirt and jeans and more sweaty than he feels comfortable with. He stops under the doorframe and takes in the picture before him with a smile. Jack is laughing for the first time in weeks, and he should have known his mother would be capable of doing that and bring him to his parents’ house sooner.

“What’s so funny?” He approaches Jack’s seat at the tiny table, putting an unsure hand on one of his shoulders. They haven’t kissed in weeks, either, and he’s afraid of breaking the bubble of happiness Jack is suddenly immersed into.

The omega turns to look at him, and his expression morphs from a sheepish smile to a devilish grin in less than one second. “Oh, nothing. Your mother was showing me some of your baby pictures.”

“Mom! Why would you do that?” Hiccup groans when he finally focuses on the open album on the table. He hid this one in the attic years ago, because it was the one with his most embarrassing photos. Valka just laughs carelessly and stands up to pour herself another cup of tea.

“Don’t be like that”, Jack stops his giggles and presses his cheek slightly to the hand still on his shoulder. “I hope the baby looks like you. He’ll be beautiful if so.”

“Or she”, the alpha reminds him with a dreamy smile. They’ve chosen to know the sex of the baby at the delivery. “I’m sure they’ll be beautiful anyway.”

“Yeah. They’ll be”, Jack looks at Hiccup with excitement shining in his soft blue eyes, and Hiccup can feel himself falling in love all over again.


	14. Day 18: Opposites.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with the daddy!AU (chapters 4-7, 11, 16 & 17) because I can’t help myself.
> 
> No warnings apply.
> 
> \- Caliope.

“I think your mom’s tea is working way too well”, Jack pouts under the living room’s doorframe, and Hiccup lifts his head from his sketchbook to look at him.

“Really?” The omega lifts the hem of his shirt —well, Hiccup’s t-shirt— in demonstration, grumpy face still in place, exposing his belly and a pair of ill-fitting unbuttoned jeans to make his point across. “Oh. I see.”

“Yeah, and I’m a bit tired of wearing sweatpants, even if ‘they are comfy’ and ‘don’t put pressure on the baby’ and blablabla”, he sighs a bit embarrassed, finally coming near the couch and sitting next to the alpha.

Over the last two weeks Jack had, thankfully and much to Hiccup and Mrs. Rapunzel’s pleasure, put on some weight. Although he still wasn’t near his ideal ‘pregnancy weight’, as the doctor called it, it was better than nothing, and it was amazing how much of a difference a proper diet could make in Jack’s mood. Since they went to the Haddock’s home and Valka suggested that the omega tried some weird natural remedy for his nausea Jack had been able to keep his food down, as well as getting his good and very necessary sleep and basically feeling like his usual self for the first time in almost five months.

This also meant that his mood swings have gotten better, which translated to not snapping at the alpha’s attempts to help him and instead looking forward to his pampering after a long day at college. Hiccup was, of course, delighted with this, and much more comfortable and sure around Jack.

For instance, the alpha takes the omega in his arms and brings him to his lap, kissing his temple in adoration. “We can go shopping for clothes and whatever you want on Saturday. We should probably start prepping for the baby, too, I don’t want you to be stressed about not having everything ready in your eighth month.”

“That would be nice, I can’t keep stealing your clothes forever”, he giggles a little, and Hiccup nuzzles their noses together.

“I don’t mind, you look better than me in them anyway”, the freckled man teases, chuckling a little under his breath when Jack blushes and hides his face in the crook of his neck.

They stay like that for a while, Jack resting calmly against Hiccup’s chest while the other male continues to sketch some designs for the baby’s room, just the background sound of the television and some of Jack’s suggestions about the designs disturbing the quietness of the room.

Toothless appears some time later, climbing to the sofa first and then on top of Jack’s belly. The cat makes himself comfortable on the omega’s stomach and purrs loudly against his owner’s hand, finally opting for a nap.

“You’re spoiling Toothless too much, I don’t know if I like that he does that”, Hiccup mumbles quietly, eyeing at the cat with a bit of jealousy (even if he would never admit it to Jack).

“Mrs. Rapunzel said that we should let him stay closer to me, get him to get accustomed to the baby and all”, he cocks an eyebrow at the brunet, pressing a peck to his jaw in consolation. “Besides, you are the one who spoils him with all that salmon you buy him, he’s getting fat”, Jack laughs when both his boyfriend and the cat look at him with matching indignant expressions, and the little animal even huffs a little.

“Look at us, bickering like a married couple already”, Hiccup rolls his eyes mockingly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips, but his playful stance falls when Jack keeps quiet, looking at his naked feet in deep thought. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

The omega bites his lip and shakes his head slowly. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Jack”, Hiccup’s tone is gentle, although commanding too, and the white haired male bites his lip harder. This is exactly what Valka and him talked about; solving misunderstandings, not running away from them.

“Okay”, the omega lifts his head to look at the alpha, who’s looking worriedly at him in turn, and takes a deep breath to calm his nerves down a little and think his words carefully. “Listen to me and don’t interrupt me because I don’t know if I’ll be able to say it twice. Ready?” Hiccup looks about to have a panic attack, and Jack can almost see every possible bad scenario playing on his mind in a blur, but the alpha nods his head anyway. Jack takes his hands in his in reassurance. “I know that we haven’t been at our best lately. I’m sorry about all those times I was mean to you when you just wanted to take care of me. I know that you do it because you love me, and I love you too, a whole lot… But we have been together for five years, and you haven’t marked me yet…”

“Jack…” Hiccup sighs apologetically, feeling like the biggest idiot ever. “Even if I haven’t marked you, you are my mate, do you understand? But we are at the same level here, and I don’t want to tie you to me because of some stupid biological imperative. I want you to be able to make your own choices.”

“But that’s where you’re wrong! We’re not at the same level, we’re at the opposite one! Have you ever thought of this actually being my choice?” Jack huffs audibly, not believing his ears. The poor cat jumps to the floor startled by the sudden outburst, leaving his owners to deal with their own problems. “How can you be one the most intelligent people I know and at the same time this dumb? I love you, I have loved you since we were kids and I’m gonna love you until I’m an old grumpy man!” He stands up and starts to pace around the coffee table, trying to calm himself down and failing miserably. “I don’t want you to mark me because of my instincts, or because we are going to have a baby together, but because I don’t want us to end like my biological parents! I-I trust you, but this is not a question of trust, Hic. This is a commitment, and it may seem like a silly or unnecessary thing for you alphas, but for us omegas it means everything.”

By the end of his speech Jack is looking at his feet, holding his tears down with an effort and panting like he had run a half-marathon. He feels his wrists being tugged forward gently, and watery blue eyes open to meet equally sad green ones. “How long have you been feeling like this?”

“I don’t know”, Jack croaks, wincing a little at his own voice. “A while?” Hiccup makes him sit on the sofa, and then kneels between his legs and holds his wet cheeks tenderly.

“Jack, I’m not gonna be like your father, and you’re not going to be like your mother”, the omega cries weakly at Hiccup’s words, his chest hurting at the reminder of his biological family. The brunet hugs him tightly, trying to shush his crying. He was responsible for this. He should have known that his boyfriend’s past could have made him doubtful about their relationship.

When the white-haired male turned eighteen, he had wanted to know about his parents, and the revelations were more shockingly than what any of them could have expected. It wasn’t unheard of alphas being more prone to violence, and sadly for some of their partners it meant being abused by them.

Jack had ended in the hands of social services just when he was a newborn, his mother being an omega like himself and his father an alpha. As one of the nurses that helped in Jack’s delivery had told them, his parents weren’t mated, and Jack’s father had tried to kill his mother upon knowing that the omega was pregnant so he could go away without having to take care of her or the baby. Jack’s mother had been able to call an ambulance after being badly injured, but by the time she arrived to the hospital it was clear that she wasn’t going to make it, and the doctors chose to save the baby’s life instead.

That boy spent his first five years of childhood going from one foster home to another, until one day he met North, and the man grew fond of the kid, finally adopting him for once and all. Then one year later they moved next to the Haddock’s house, he met a nine year old Hiccup, and the rest was history.

“I should have realized about this earlier, I’m sorry”, Jack sobs a little more quietly now, breathing slowly against Hiccup’s cheek and listening to him intently. “Being marked isn’t stupid or unnecessary, and if you want me to do it, then I’ll be more than happy to do it. But I wanna do it for us, not because of what society may think, or because of our instincts. I wanna do it for you. So, are you sure, snowflake?”

Jack hiccups at the nickname, laughter mixing with the remaining sobs making it difficult to speak. “Yes. Ple-please, I’m sure.”

“It’s settled, then”, Hiccup nuzzles their noses together in a handshake fashion, sealing the deal and earning more giggles from the smaller boy. “Now, anything else I can do to make you happy?”

“Im fine, but I think the baby wants a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream again”, Jack gives him the biggest smile Hiccup has ever seen, all pearly white teeth and utter happiness pulling at the corners of his lips, and the alpha knows that smile could put him in a lot of trouble if Jack wanted to.

Not that he’d care, anyway.


	15. Day 19 & 23: Prepare & Spoon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with the daddy!AU (chapters 4-7, 11, 16-18), no warnings apply. 
> 
> \- Caliope.

“Do you think we need an…”, the brunet squints at the box in his hands, an adorable frown on his face, “ _electric bottle warmer_?”

Jack rolls his eyes, but at the same time has to stifle a giggle at Hiccup’s lost expression. “No honey, we happen to own something called a  _microwave_.”

“Oh no, but those are bad for the baby! The- the  _waves_ , you know? They can damage their brain”, Hiccup looks disapprovingly at him, shaking his head for emphasis. Well, he just needed to put a  _Worst parent ever_  sticker on Jack’s forehead.

“Where did you get that idea from?” Jack snorts, mocking smirk and blue eyes shining with mirth in them.

“From my book”, Hiccup says it with a huff, almost proudly and like it was the most obvious thing in the world… And really, it was, because the brunet read and reread that silly parenting book for alphas at least twice every day. The poor manual’s spine was tearing apart from usage only, and it was incredibly funny for Jack —and sometimes super frustrating, too, because Hiccup kept quoting it like a priest would do with a Bible. Just like right now.

“Hic, even if your worry is incredibly endearing, trust me in this one, okay? We don’t need that.” Jack cradles one of the alpha’s cheeks with a pale hand, and stands on the tips of his toes to press a peck on Hiccup’s lips . He barely reaches his chin, his seven months belly making itself noticeable between them, and contents himself with kissing the skin there instead. “We just have to buy the things of the list.”

Hiccup pouts, but otherwise accepts his inevitable fate and leaves the bottle warmer on the shelf from where he took it. Then Jack smiles at him fondly before resuming their search, and Hiccups strolls the shopping cart down the aisle, a look of utter adoration on his face as he follows Jack’s duckling steps across the maternity store.

Life was perfect those days, or at least it felt like that to Hiccup. The couple had settled into their new routine of monthly doctor appointments and weekly family gatherings with ease, but what the alpha loved the most about the last two months was the new intimacy Jack and him had somewhat created with each other. There were soft kisses and long sessions of cuddling and scenting on their bed, peaceful moments on the couch that turned into naps watching nature documentaries with Toothless, bubble baths on their tiny tub accompanied with plenty of caresses with scented oils to Jack’s belly…

They had even started decorating the baby’s room, taking it like a conjoined project. It had been a little bit of a pain in the head, having to clear out their studio to make room for the kid and deciding where to put their collections of books, movies and music, as well as their art supplies; and maybe the flat would be too small for the three of them and Toothless when the baby grew up a few years, but that didn’t discourage them from painting the studio’s walls in pastel hues of green and blue, and then Hiccup assembled the white furniture while Jack painted snowflakes all over the walls.

(At some point Jack had decided that glitter silver paint looked good with the freckles on Hiccup’s cheek. The remaining of their paint fight had taken days to completely wash off.)

“Hic!”

Hiccup snaps out of his musings at Jack’s call, leaving the shopping cart against the shelves to come closer to the white haired man. Jack is standing in front of one of the shelves, looking at something above their heads with longing eyes, and the brunet looks at it too.

Stuffed animals. Dozens of them, lined neatly like soldiers of a little and very fluffy army. He can’t help the smirk that pulls at his lips. “Are ‘plushies’ on the list?”

“No… but  _maybe_  we could forget about the list?” Jack takes one of the toys, shaped like a polar bear, and rubs a paw against Hiccup’s stubble. Okay, it was extremely soft, and to be fair it was really cute.

“Just this time”, he pecks Jack on the nose, and turns to take their cart back without seeing the devilish grin that blooms on the omega’s face.

That night though, Hiccup has to swim through the ocean of plushies — _the aforementioned polar bear, and a penguin, a couple of bunnies, a lion, an elephant, and what were those? Dragons?_ — that comes between himself and a very happy Jack.

“I couldn’t choose just one”, the omega pouts until Hiccup’s frown is reluctantly swiped from his face and the alpha finally spoons him on the bed, putting his hands around Jack’s belly and rubbing them slowly.

“Something it’s telling me that I’m going to take care of two babies instead of one”, the brunet lets out a faked sigh, nuzzling the skin of Jack’s nape tenderly and pressing a kiss there.

“You have been taking care of me just right these years, you don’t get to complain about it now”, the smaller male giggles under his ministrations, ticklish at the touch. “You love it.”

“I love you”, Hiccup teases, but positively melts when he can feel the baby kicking Jack’s stomach under his palms. “Hey there, tiny thing. I love you too.”

Jack’s eyes water slightly at his words, but Hiccup can’t really see it. He moves to switch off their lamp, and then resumes his position around the other man’s body. The omega puts a a pale hand on top of the brunet’s freckled one on his belly, relaxing in his arms.

Toothless arrives at their cocoon of warm blankets and stuffed toys soon after, and the three —four— of them  sleep happily.


	16. Day 20: Quiet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some kind of weird college!AU, idk. Warnings for sex and language. 
> 
> \- Caliope.

A pillow is the recipient of Hiccup’s gasp, and Jack is suddenly jealous of an inanimate object.

Well, fuck.

He slides his fingers out of the brunet’s entrance and receives a muffled whine in response. With a deep frown between dark eyebrows and determined blue eyes Jack takes Hiccup by the thighs and flips him over, perky nipples and flushed cock and debauched expression greeting him in the myriad of freckles that it’s Hiccup’s body, the pillow forgotten under his head.

Jack stops for the tiniest of moments to admire the thousands of burning stars sprawled in front of him, littering Hiccup’s skin from head to toe and curling and spiraling in irregular patterns all over a pale creamy sky.

Hiccup, being the art student that he was, usually tended to name colors properly, which sometimes meant that he would have to look up a certain hue in his chart until he was satisfied with the denomination. Jack feels like that, too, when he looks into the artist’s eyes. He’s sure that there are at least ten different shades of green shining in those orbs. (He hasn’t find the correct color for Jack’s irises yet, whatever that means.)

Everything is so, so, so quiet between them that it’s almost surreal. If Jack’s heartbeat wasn’t roaring like the one of a racing horse in his ears he’d thought that he had gone deaf.

Jack’s love for music comes probably from the lullabies his mother used to sing to him when he was just a baby, and now as a student in that major he finds himself drinking desperately but gladly in every little sound that Hiccup makes: from shallow breaths to lip-bitten groans, from the soft rustle of bedsheets under their bodies to clicking teeth and tongues, and when that is not enough he hovers over the other teen’s chest until his ear is pressed against the warm muscle of his left pectoral, and he sighs through his nose upon hearing the wonderful melody of Hiccup’s heart pumping blood under the freckled flesh.

Jack wasn’t always like this, relishing in the silence that usually surrounded their affairs. There was a time in which Jack would push every single one of Hiccup’s buttons to the point of painfulness like an angry pianist if that meant getting a coaxed moan from the brunet, because Jack had always associated good sex with noise and the other students banging angry fists against his door for him and his partner to shut up; and at the beginning he took Hiccup’s reluctance to be a vocal lover with something akin to bashfulness or prudishness —possibilities which now seem utterly ridiculous when the other teen is looking invitingly at him, dextrous hands coming to touch himself and put on a show that makes Jack’s cock throb longingly.

At the end of the day it was all about finding a balance and keeping it, and right now Jack can state without a trace of doubt that Hiccup complements him perfectly, for when Jack pushes in gently Hiccup laps at his collarbone hungrily, and when Jack fucks the boy under him roughly Hiccup kisses him tenderly, and Jack doesn’t need to actually hear the praises and curses and prayers falling from the brunet’s lips when he can feel them traveling from his tongue to his bones to his very core, making it shudder in a sudden burst of the most raw affection.

He swears their bodies glow in stardust as they come down from their orgasms.

“What were you thinking about, before?”

The question is barely a whisper, almost reaching the ’ _purr_ ’ category in Jack’s personal record. Hiccup is looking at him, those piercing green forests calling for him to get lost in them for hours, for days, and Jack isn’t precisely reluctant to let it happen.

“I was thinking about you.” The white haired teen murmurs honestly, because well, there is no use in denying it.

Hiccup hums contentedly, satisfaction relaxing every muscle of his body while he nuzzles his nose on Jack’s ear to let him hear it clearly, and isn’t it the most lovely sound in the world?

“I love you.”

_Oh._

“Say it again?”

“I love you.”

Well, he has found the most lovely sound in the entire  _universe._

“I love you too”. Jack whispers back, even if Hiccup doesn’t need to hear it to believe it. The blue hues dancing in his eyes like tilting stars are more than enough for the artist’s heart.  


	17. Day 21 & 25: Rookie & Veteran.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some kind or weird cowboys!AU, maybe? No warnings apply.
> 
> \- Caliope.

“My brother is looking at your butt”, Emma snorts amusedly, and Hiccup knows that his blush must be the color of the fruit he’s holding in his hands right now. He looks by the corner of his eyes discreetly to see Jack waving his hand with a smile in his direction, and Hiccup waves his in response even if a little shakily.

“Shut up Emm”, he says, completely mortified by the younger girl’s words, and sighs a little through his nose before resuming the task at hand.

“Aww, c’mon Hic, you’ve been making gooey eyes at each other since you arrived. I just want you to fuck that tension away and keep with your lives.” She smiles innocently at him.

“I don’t want to be around if your mother ever catches you talking like that”, he acknowledges in a bored tone, even if his voice comes out way less surer than what he’d intended.

“Why don’t you talk to him?”

Hiccup ignores the question and instead picks up a new bundle of bright red cherries from the tree above his head, putting it in the basket resting in the crook of his right arm and purposely thinking of how much it would hurt to fall onto the floor on his butt from his current position on top of the wooden ladder.

It’s mid-June, harvest time in the Frost family’s ranch, and Hiccup takes a look beyond the tree he’s next to just to see more of them, neatly aligned along the ground, with more people picking up their fruits and putting it in baskets very much like his own. At that moment the only thing his eyes reach is the large crop of cherry trees that composes half the extension of the ranch, shining vibrant green and bright red in the relentless sun, and it’s a beautiful sight.

At first he hadn’t wanted to take up this place, because as Emm had pointed ‘he wasn’t very agile’ and ‘letting him climb on top of the ladder would be a menace’, and Hiccup couldn’t have agreed more with her, but Jack had insisted and…

Well, Hiccup couldn’t say no to that angelic face, even if he knew that the Frost siblings were nothing if not angelic, their reputation as tricksters preceding them.

Said reputation was precisely what made Hiccup a bit wary of them, especially of Jack: the young man was known around the area for being a real heartbreaker, always flirting shamelessly with both daughters and sons of their neighbors, and Hiccup was fond of his heart as it was —a bit breathless because of his crush on the other boy, but otherwise, still intact—. Because the two boys might be at the same tender age of twenty-one, but regarding sexual matters, Hiccup was a total rookie and Jack a very veteran individual, at least for what he had heard…

Besides, Hiccup was just a stable lad, and a very clumsy one at that (yeah, he loved the animals and was trustworthy, but he still couldn’t understand how Jack’s father had given him the job in the first place), so despite Emma’s constant rambling about how her brother looked at him like this or that, or said this or that about him, he wasn’t going to let his spirits up.

She was just fifteen, what did she know about love?

It was probably a joke, anyways.

“Emma, mom is looking for you, something about your next contest”, Jack approaches them ever calmly, that carelessly aura surrounding him making him even more attractive with his stupid brown cowboy hat and boots.

“My new riding outfit must have arrived!” Emma shrills excitedly, leaving the full basket Hiccup just passed her on the floor and running in the house’s direction, before suddenly turning in her tracks to look pointedly at the freckled young man. “We’ll keep talking later!”

Jack watches his sister go, curiosity tickling him. “What were you talking about?”

“Nothing important, brushing techniques so the horses get shinier hair. She wants Pearl to look her best at their contest”, he shrugs nonchalantly, still on top of the ladder and praying to sound convincing. Jack seems suspicious, but finally settles with that and doesn’t push the subject further.

“Would you come down? I have something to show you.” The white haired boy smiles innocently, and Hiccup rolls his eyes at how much the gesture resembles his sister’s previous grin just moments ago.

He doesn’t look at Jack again until both his feet are pressed against the ground and he’s safe and sound, not wanting to make a fool of himself. When he lifts his head up Jack is much closer than what he expected, but Hiccup fights the urge to take a step back. “What’s it, then?” Jack holds a cherry in front of his green eyes, and Hiccup squints at it dubiously. “So… That’s a cherry.”

“Not the cherry, you dummy”, Jack twirls the fruit in his fingers by the stem, and Hiccup’s eyes widen in realization as the other boy smirks suggestively. Jack tugs the stem off the cherry and puts it in his mouth, making a few funny faces —and very obviously flicking his tongue around the stem— before pulling it out, this time tied in a perfect knot. Jack chuckles low at Hiccup’s violent blush. “It’s a cherry stem test. It’s a silly thing to prove if you’re a good kisser or something like that, but it’s fun. Do you know how to do it?”

A fucking  _cherry stem test_. So that little game just proved exactly how much of an experienced kisser Jack was, and it was making things to Hiccup’s groin.  _Fuck fuck fuck_.

“O-of course”, Hiccup clears his throat to swallow the blatant lie, his cheeks burning under Jack’s attentive blue gaze. He takes one cherry from the basket at his feet, tugging the stem off the fruit and putting it in his mouth as well. He moves his tongue around the stem carefully, trying to take a hold on both ends with his bucked teeth, but after a few attempts he pulls the stupid stem out, without a single knot in it. “Uh.”

Jack giggles quietly at his furrowed brow, an honest smile tugging at his lips. “Don’t worry, it’s a schoolyard thing anyway. I just can do it because I practiced a lot, I actually haven’t kissed anyone in my life, so…” He looks at the basket of cherries at their feet, picking up another one and grinning shyly at Hiccup. “I can teach you, if you want.”

Hiccup doesn’t say a word, staring at Jack with an undecipherable expression for a minute. The air surrounding them turns chill as the dusk nears, and Jack shivers slightly, although the involuntary gesture has more to do with the burning…  _something_  in Hiccup’s green eyes than with the sudden cold.

_So, all those rumors…_

The orange light of the dying sun reflects on Jack’s white hair, making it seem golden. His eyes are two pools of hopefulness, big and open and completely readable, and when he finally parts his lips to lick at his bottom one nervously Hiccup moves forward the two steps separating them and seals them with his own.

Jack closes his eyes instantly, hands traveling upwards to grab at the lapels of Hiccup’s shirt as the other boy does the proper thing and puts his around his waist, bringing them closer and making their teeth clink together almost painfully. Hiccup tries to push away with a wince at the sound, but Jack circles his hands around his neck and stands on the tip of his toes, their bodies now flushed from collarbone to hip, and the two of them gasp at the sensation.

The kiss is clumsy, too hard and too raw and too eager, and their teeth scrap at their lips and their tongues barely catch an embarrassed flick of the each other, but when they finally pull apart both of them have glassy eyes and blushed cheeks and a silly tiny smile on their faces.

“So…” Jack coughs in his hand, adjusting his hat awkwardly over his head.

“Uh… I haven’t kissed anybody before either, so… _Sorry_?” Hiccup kicks a fallen cherry with his boot, looking at the other boy through his lashes.

"Oh, no, no, it’s- it’s like the test, you know? Like, uh, you just need to practice! And- well, I- I could help you practice, if you want, because I’m very good at the test but not so much at the kissing thing and maybe we could be practice partners or something like that, I don’t know, I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything, I mean I can keep my distance if you want but I don’t know because you were the one who kissed me first and it has to mean something, or maybe not, but if it means something then maybe we could go out sometime and watch a movie or go for a walk or whatev-”

Hiccup takes Jack’s cheeks with this hands and presses their lips together, this time much surer, but with the same tender innocence of the first one. He shuts Jack’s rambling effectively, and when they finally separate Hiccup has to chuckle at Jack’s amazed look. “I’d love to go out with you.”

“Oh, great then, yeah that’s great, that’s in fact awesom-”

Hiccup kisses him again, chuckling at Jack’s pout. “You ramble a lot.”

“I- I don’t ramble, I’m just a bit excited and a bit embarrassed and sometimes when that happens- it’s like a filter, yeah? I have brain-mouth filter and it sometimes shuts off when I’m being ridiculous and you make me really nervous because-”

Hiccup kisses him for the fourth time, now laughing openly at the other boy’s antics. “Do I make you nervous, Mr. Confident Cowboy?”

Jack doesn’t stop his rambling, and by the time Hiccup has kissed him for the twelfth time he’s suspicious that the white haired man may be doing it on purpose, but he can’t bring himself to care as the last rays of sun wash over them and the crop of cherry trees.  


	18. Day 24: Travel.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst ahead. Major character death (except for that, no warnings apply).
> 
> \- Caliope.

“Hey, dragon boy.”

The autumn rain seems to caress Jack’s cheeks gently at the words. He swears that the drops turn warmer before they touch his skin, only to cool down and drip down his chin.

He has to squint his eyes to see through the blur of water in front of him, but the Northern Wind howls ever softly around him, maybe matching his mood or maybe consoling him. Jack takes two shaky steps forward, clutching his staff with white knuckles as he takes a seat on the damp grass under his naked feet.

The water ruffles his white hair, and his soaked locks stick to his forehead and ears, but he doesn’t make an effort to push it away. He puts his hands in the pockets of his fur vest, leaving his staff on the ground and taking a few shivering breaths.

The lump in his throat never eases down. That feeling of a bony hand squeezing his heart in his chest never ceases. His pain never rests. He licks his bottom lip and closes his eyes, relishing in the sensation of the storm around him, of the cold seeping into his bones and making it more difficult to breathe.

So, instead, he talks.

“Do you remember that tiny island, far away to the south? Toothless has taken a liking to it, or so it seems. He flies me there almost everyday, and we lay in the grass under the sun and… Well, I think about you. I’m not sure if he does that too, but I think it’s a fine guess. You were-”

He gasps, quietly, and the  _implication_  it’s enough to make him spill hot tears from red rimmed blue eyes.

“You  _are_  his best friend. I’m spending a lot of time with him lately. Try to make him feel better. Because– because  _it wasn’t his fault_ , and _nobody blames him_ , but… I don’t know how to explain it, Hic. His eyes are so dull compared to what they used to be… I– You two have the same eyes, you know? When I look into Toothless’ eyes I can see yours, and it’s beautiful.”

Or at least, it used to. Before.

_Before._

“Your mom looks so much like you… She’s beautiful, too, and she has helped Toothless a lot, again, because she seems to understand him better than me. And your father, well, he has taken Astrid under his wing. She’s going to be the new chief when Stoick leaves the leadership. It’s great, right? I- I think she’s going to do a good job.”

A soft, almost shy crooning sound comes from his back, and he looks over his shoulder to fin Toothless sitting on his haunches behind him, black pupils big and round and so full of  _guilt_  that it makes Jack’s heart bleed in his ribcage.

“Hey bud, come here”, he pats the grass at his side and Toothless moves hesitantly at first, his steps careful. When he reaches Jack’s body he curls tightly around the thin boy, sharing his body heat and opening a wing to shield them from the storm.

Jack caresses Toothless’ muzzle absently, his eyes looking beyond the cliff and into the dark sea, but at the same time staring into nothingness. “Do you remember that evening at the cove? It was raining and we were talking under Toothless’ wing, just like know. You were fussing about your map getting wet, so you opened it, and it was the first time I saw it, all those tiny sketched islands and archipelagos and unnamed seas, and I must have looked so amazed that you decided to told me about every single one of them… You were always like that, always wanting to discover new places, and I never understood it until you showed me why, and then you told me-”

_“Together we’ll map the world.”_

_And you **kissed**  me after that._

Jack doesn’t realize he’s crying until a specially vicious sob rips through his lungs. Toothless curls tighter around his back, whimpering low in his throat.

“We miss you, Hiccup. I- I _love_ you.”

The Northern Wind mourns with them for a while, boy and dragon, heartbroken and incomplete.

But when the storm clears out, the night is starry, and the Moon shines bright over their heads. And the Moon  _sees_.


	19. Day 27 & 28: Weak & X-treme.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part to the daddy!AU (chapters 4-7, 11, 16-19 & 23). Warnings for vague descriptions of injuries.
> 
> \- Caliope.

Jack can’t remember most of the things that happened after he fainted all over the kitchen’s floor.  
  
Through the fog in his mind he can make tiny bits of information, like Toothless’ distressed meowing next to his head, or the searing pain across his low abdomen, or the frantic movement of the baby inside him, and he knows right away —even if just in a semi-conscious state— that something isn’t right.

  
He tries to stand up, to stop pressing his belly against the cold tile floor, but he’s too dizzy to even lift his head from the strange pool of red next to his cheek. He feels extremely tired, like he has a ton of bricks on top of his back, like suddenly gravity has decided to pull him to the center of the Earth with all its force.  
  
Sleep sounds like a good idea, and even with Toothless biting his knuckles to keep him awake, he closes his eyes.  
  
*  
  
The next time Jack wakes up he can’t hear a single thing through the high pitched buzz in his ears, but he can distinguish Hiccup’s frantic stare on his face, and he can feel the alpha’s trembling hands against his stomach.  
  
The touch feels nice, and Hiccup always makes him feel safe. He can sleep a bit more.  
  
*  
  
There are a lot of people surrounding him, but Jack can’t tell who they are. There are blinding white lights above him that make his blue eyes and his head hurt, and this isn’t their bed at all, because it doesn’t smell like  _warm_  and  _home_ and  _mate_.  
  
He tries to tell Hiccup this, to ask him to carry him to their room and switch the lights off, but the alpha begs him to be quiet with tears running down his face.  
  
“ _Everything is going to be okay_ ”, Hiccup murmurs fiercely over and over again, like a twisted mantra, while his fingers caress Jack’s skin.  
  
Jack doesn’t want to make his alpha cry anymore, so he lets his mouth fall silent and be carried to wherever they’re going. After a moment he’s drifting off again, the wet sensation covering his body growing slowly into a pool, and then into a lake of cold water.  
  
Hiccup asks him to stay awake, but this time Jack can’t oblige.  
  
*  
  
Jack doesn’t know where Hiccup is. He can’t track his scent through the nauseous stink of antiseptic and blood in the room.  
  
His mate is gone and there’re strangers prodding and touching his belly, and Jack is scared because they all smell wrong, and he must protect his baby but he’s alone and his arms and legs are strapped to the bed he’s lying on.  
  
He calls for his mate, yells as he struggles weakly against the leashes, growls and bites at the man that tries to keep his head steady against the pillow, and for the littlest moment he can hear the alpha howling for him from somewhere in equal measure, but he sounds as trapped as Jack.  
  
A woman switches places with the man restraining him, and a whiff of his nose tells Jack that he knows her instantly. Bony hands graze over his temples sweetly, almost motherly, and a pair of big green eyes stare into his own from above him.  
  
She whispers something, but Jack doesn’t pay attention to her, his ears too trained into the distressed cries from his mate. The woman kisses his forehead, but her grip on his head doesn’t relent.  
  
He begs her to let him go, to let his baby and his alpha alone, but someone covers his mouth and nose and he howls into a funny smelling air until his strength drops like a stone.  
  
He cries himself to an induced-sleep.  
  
*  
  
Jack wakes up for the last time to the throbbing pain of blood pulsating under the cuts on his head and abdomen.  
  
He stares at the covers resting flatly against his stomach with dead eyes and a suffocating heart.  
  
“Hey, darling”, Hiccup takes his wandering hands in one of his and presses a kiss to them. The alpha is standing next to the bed with red-rimmed eyes and a hoarse voice, a bundle of cloth nested carefully between the crook of his other arm and hand.  
  
Jack can’t say a thing through the fear strangling his raw throat, but there’s no necessity, no when his mate smiles at him like that.  
  
“ _Is.._?”  
  
“It’s a boy”, Hiccup chokes on his own words, letting go of his mate’s hand and maneuvering the cloth in his arms to rest it on Jack’s waiting own.  
  
The omega is presented with a head of light chestnut hair on top of a pale face, except for the blush warming two round cheeks and a little nose. The baby’s mouth is settled in a pout as he sleeps, small hands gripping at the sky blue blanket wrapped around  his body, and it’s the most beautiful thing Jack has ever seen in his whole life.  
  
“He’s so  _tiny_ ”, he whispers, amazed, and he can feel Hiccup pressing a kiss to his forehead distantly. “I thought…”  
  
He takes a moment to calm himself down, a shudder cursing along his spine at the implication of his unspoken words. Saying them aloud would only feed the terror he felt what seemed only moments before. None of them needed that.  
  
Instead Jack lowers his head to the wonderful creature in his arms and grazes his cheeks and forehead with his nose, marking the baby with his own scent. As he does so, the omega can trace Hiccup’s own smell already on the infant, and he looks up at him with a smile.  
  
Hiccup positively beams at him. At  _them_. “Mom said he came early into this world, just like you and me, but I’m sure he’ll be fine, if we can tell by looking at us.” The alpha comes even closer, now that he has let his mate scent their son properly, and takes his turn to nuzzle both of them gently but thoroughly.  
  
“What happened?” Jack has eyes only for the baby, but Hiccup can notice his confusion from his voice alone. “He wasn’t due for at least another month…”  
  
Hiccup sighs quietly, bracing himself for the explanation he’s about to do. “I found you in the kitchen when I arrived home… I don’t know, maybe you fainted or tripped or something, but you’d hit your head and were unconscious… Toothless was with you, he wouldn’t stop meowing”, the alpha laughs softly, wary of waking up their child. “I-I called an ambulance. Then we arrived here, and the doctors said you had a concussion, and when they knew you were an omega they didn’t want to risk the baby’s life, so they decided to do a c-section… I was  _so_  worried, Jack…”  
  
Hiccup’s voice dies quietly in the room, and the omega can smell the faint scent of long-shed tears even from the bed.  
  
Jack offers Hiccup a shaky hand and a tired smile, the alpha taking it instantly between his own. “I’m sorry, love. But look at us”, he lowers his eyes to the tiny boy curled on his chest, and his heart beats in his ribcage with joy at the sight. “It’s okay. We’re fine.”  
  
As if on cue, the baby stirs in his sleep, small fingers touching against the skin of his dad’s collarbone for the first time, a spark of recognition making him open his eyes almost blindly. Clear blue orbs peer at the two males in the room for a few moments, before a couple cooing sounds escape the young child and make his parents smile.  
  
“Hi, little thing”, Jack coos at him, one of his fingertips caressing a round cheek. “Henry?”  
  
“Henry”, Hiccup agrees, looking fondly at his new family.


	20. Day 30 & 31: Yoga & Zipper.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last one, finally! Some kind of weird Batman!AU, based on the art of arcanabreak and amymvuong on tumblr. Warnings for violence and adult themes. 
> 
> \- Caliope.

He meets Catboy for the first time as he meets most people these days —hitting them or being hit, sometimes it isn’t clear enough—.

  
Tonight, though, he is being hit, and pretty hard at that. The Nightmare King’s men are a bunch of brainless monkeys unable to put  one plus one together, but they sure can pack a very beefy punch.  
  
He’s hauled into a sitting position and kept like that by two of the scumbags, and later he’ll tell himself that the cat is able to sneak on him solely because of the pain distracting his mind, not because of his abilities.  
  
No matter how agile or quiet someone tried to be, that level of stealthiness couldn’t be human, and he wasn’t going to give Catboy the satisfaction of looking startled at his little trick.  
  
The boy in question stares at him with an undecipherable expression through a pair of red lenses, their faces so close they may be as well breathing the same air. Catboy looks… curious, and harmless enough, but Hiccup knows better than to let his guard down, despite how much his body hurts at the moment and how much he really wants to curl down on the floor of the warehouse and let everything else be damned.  
  
The Cat’s face looks young, made of smooth lines that lack the shadow of a shaved beard, so he’s maybe around his age, and it’s a surprise considering the business he’s in. Speaking of which—  
  
“Look at that, a little winged rat.” The Cat’s eyes widen for a sudden moment, before placing a neutral expression on and retreating next to the owner of the voice.  
  
“Pitch”, Hiccup greets the sneering man with a polite nod. His mother would be proud of his manners.  
  
The Boogeyman smiles, although it looks more like a twisted smirk. “I’m glad you decided to join us tonight on such a special occasion. Are you enjoying your stay so far?” As if on cue, the brute holding his right arm punches him on the ribs, the already damaged bones snapping under his fist. Hiccup gasps for air as his vision turns white for a second, the blow pressing his lung further into his chest and threatening to puncture it despite his armor.  
  
The two fearlings stop holding his arms, and Hiccup doubles over and falls to the floor on his side. He can’t hear much over the high pitching noise buzzing in his ears, but he squints at the two figures in front of him. The Boogeyman presses a possessive hand on the Cat’s low back, and he guides the young boy to the warehouse’s further wall. There are at least a dozen containers filled with Pitch’s trademark “nightmare sand”, and Hiccup hadn’t known much about their purpose before heading here tonight, but it was clear that the Boogeyman was planning something big.  
  
(And looking at how he just gestured to his fearlings to drop the sand onto the city’s water system, well, he had been right.)  
  
Hiccup takes one of his explosive bombs from his belt, his fingers shaking all the time with the effort. His good side isn’t as damaged as the right one, though, so he concentrates on throwing it as close to the barrels of sand as he can.  
  
Just as he moves his arm, the Cat’s eyes lock on his for a tiny moment.  
  
There’s an expected commotion after the first barrel explodes, the black powder clouding around them inside the warehouse making it impossible to breathe, and Hiccup wheezes through his constricted lungs just as he hears the first sirens howling in the distance.  
  
He needs to move before the police arrives; they’d surely be delighted to take his mask off, the people in this city hating him as much as that scum he fought every night, and if that happened then not even Aster would be able to save his freckled ass—  
  
He’s pushed onto his back first, and he’s too distracted grunting at the pain to really complain about the guy dragging him by his feet like he is a fucking potato sack.  
  
Or a corpse about to be drop into the deck’s waters.  
  
They manage to get outside somehow, and Hiccup drinks in the mostly fresh sea breeze in huge gulps, and actually being able to breath after being just about to die of suffocation is super nice.  
  
He looks at his captor to find a pair of blue, blue eyes boring into his, the Cat’s face smeared with dark ashes and little specks of burnt sand where neither his suit’s hoodie of his googles protected him.  
  
Hiccup stares confusedly at him, and opens his mouth to ask about what the hell is going on when the sirens are heard again, louder than before, and suddenly Catboy is nowhere to be seen.  
  
Batman goes back to his empty cave with a bunch of hurting ribs and a thumping heart, unaware of the sleek black figure watching him from the rooftops.  
  
*  
  
Fighting Catboy soon becomes a routine, and Hiccup doesn’t know how he feels about it.  
  
Over their encounters he had gathered some information about the other male: he was probably about twenty, right-handed and used a weird retractable staff as his weapon of choice. He had been able to torn his hood one night, too, and his white hair had been a shock to the eye back then, but the action hadn’t being too useful except for getting a set of deep scratches on his left cheek. Hiccup didn’t recognize the young man’s —handsome— face, and after doing a few sketches and looking him up in the city’s record found nothing about him.  
  
He searched in all of the country’s databases without success, and maybe he was an outsider, even if it didn’t seem likely, but…  
  
It was like Catboy was a ghost.  
  
*  
  
Hiccup usually makes it to the cave in a daze of confusion and sore limbs.  
  
Gobber finds him passed out on the house’s corridors most nights, with Toothless lying beside him making crooning sounds of comfort, and he hauls him to the bed, grumbling all the time about how he can’t keep doing ‘this stupid vigilante thing’ and what would his parents think about him if they saw him like this.  
  
Hiccup rarely catches more than tiny bits of his butler’s complaints, but he makes an act of not hearing them anyway.  
  
Thinking about them it’s the last thing he needs in times like these. Instead, he curls around the panther’s body in his bed, and searches in his mind for a pair of blue eyes, focusing on that until he’s drifting away to dreamless places.  
  
*  
  
There are kids disappearing, vanishing out of their beds at night, and suddenly things start to be too quiet for a few weeks. It makes the hair at Hiccup’s nape stand on end as he moves from rooftop to rooftop, from abandoned plant to plant, from dark alley to alley—  
  
A wheeze, a gurgling noise, and those blue eyes greet him.  
  
“What happened?” The Cat’s hood is down, white hair glued to his scalp with both fresh and dry blood. His face is a mess of yellow and green and blue bruises trying to top themselves over the others. Hiccup does quick count of a broken nose and bottom lip, by the looks of Catboy’s stance a clavicle too, and he doesn’t want to think about what he’d find if he looked under the boy’s suit.  
  
The Cat tries to prop himself a bit better against the brick wall without much success, so Hiccup holds him carefully by the shoulders and ignores his hisses in favor of glaring at him. He’s not going to ask twice.  
  
Catboy huffs. “C-can’t”. There’s the gurgling sound again, now accompanied by a gulp of blood trailing down one of the corners of his lips. Hiccup takes one of his gloves off, two freckled fingers prying open the boy’s mouth with just a bit of fighting. Severed tongue, too.  
  
“Who did this, then? Just give me a name, then I’ll leave you where your boss can find you.”  
  
Catboy looks panicked at his generous offer, and grips a weak hand over his wrist. “N, Pit-ch”, he gestures at himself, trembling all over, and stares intently into Hiccup’s eyes for a moment.  
  
Then it hits him. “Pitch did this to you?” He whispers, sceptic, but Catboy nods his head just once, still shivering, and something inside the brunet’s chest stirs at the sight.  
  
But Hiccup can’t wrap the fact around his head. In all his encounters with the Nightmare King, the man had acted possessively around his little pet, in some occasions protectively, in a few others even like he was fond of him. He displayed Catboy like he was some precious and exotic breed at the end of a very short leash, and Hiccup could tell from looks alone that he was a very proud owner. So, what had his favorite toy done to angry him so much that he would beat him to this point?  
  
What if this was some kind of trap? Did he have to expect being cornered as soon as he let his guard down?  
  
Catboy coughs as quietly as possible in front of him, wincing all the time. Hiccup stares at his bruised face for a while, but he doesn’t stare back. The boy huddles into himself like he wants to become invisible to the vigilante’s gaze, and he looks even younger like this, about to fall asleep against the alley wall with the cold nagging at his bones.  
  
He doesn’t move much, not even when Hiccup lifts him to his feet and presses him to his side to help him walk —there’s a nasty cut on his left thigh, too, bleeding profusely and looking deep—.  
  
They are silent the whole way to the mansion.  
  
*  
  
The pale boy sleeps for almost two whole days, only waking up enough to go to the bathroom once and eat a couple of spoonfuls of Gobber’s dubious soup.  
  
Hiccup isn’t worried about him, it doesn’t matter what his butler says. Why would he be preoccupied about the welfare of one of his enemies? It didn’t matter if they were on bad terms now: Catboy had still followed Pitch’s orders before, and suddenly being dumped by the Nightmare King wasn’t going to change that.  
  
Hiccups keeps repeating his words in his head like a mantra, but he doesn’t leave Catboy’s bedside, just in case.  
  
Toothless keeps him company, sleeping at his feet and purring when he feels his owner’s anxiety picking up.  
  
*  
  
The Cat wakes up on his third day occupying Hiccup’s bed. The first thing he does is to quietly ask for a glass of milk, and he obliges, because… Well, the boy looks terrible, and it makes Hiccup’s chest ache a little.  
  
“I’m Hiccup Haddock”, he says  once Catboy has scarfed down a whole breakfast and Gobber has left them alone.  
  
“I know who you are”, he rasps, tongue still hurt, like it was obvious.  
  
“Does your boss know, too?” Maybe it’s a low blow, but Catboy looks indifferent except for a dirty look. “So, what’s your name?”  
  
“Jack”, he murmurs reluctantly, turning his attention to Toothless instead. “Hey, kitty.”  
  
Toothless seems unimpressed by the nickname, but comes forward until Jack can pet him anyways.  
  
“Thank you, for the other night.” Jack speaks very softly, and doesn’t look at Hiccup in the eye as he rubs under the panther’s muzzle carefully. “You didn’t have to.”  
  
“I want some answers, as payment.”  
  
“Of course. Shoot.” Catboy scoffs, a bitter smile on his lips.  
  
“Why are the children disappearing?” Hiccup isn’t a tough guy, or a good detective at that, but something tells him that this has the Boogeyman’s prints all over it.  
  
“Pitch is testing something on them.”  
  
“Something?”  
  
“I’m not sure”, Jack whispers, griping the sheets at his lap with distant eyes. “But it’s bad. It’s really bad.”  
  
“Why they did this to you?” Hiccup stares closely at the boy, watching how his shoulders start to shake almost imperceptibly, and he  remembers that he had done the same that first night. The night that he had saved his life and his mask, saved the only thing that somehow made him feel useful. Worthy. A bit lighter after so many years of grieving and hate and looking for revenge… Jack’s lips are still firmly shut, and it occurs to him that maybe there are sins haunting him, too. “You can stay here, until things calm down. But I need you to tell me where he keeps the kids.”  
  
“I can help.” Jack says through his teeth, now with something fierce in his eyes. “I need to help. I’m not like them.”  
  
‘You have to believe me’ seems to be the natural continuation to his plea, but Hiccup doesn’t comment on it. “Let’s make sure you are ready,  then.”  
  
Hiccup bites off a traitorous ‘I trust you’, and if Jack catches the implication on his words he doesn’t comment on it, either.  
  
*  
  
They wait until the moon is high in the sky and crept around the tiny forest behind the two-story house Jack has indicated.  
  
It’s one of the few suburbs of the city, with white houses and green grass parcels and kid’s toys scattered next to 4-seat cars, and Hiccup recognizes that he would have never thought about a location like this to be one of Pitch’s operation point, which is exactly why the bastard chose it on the first place.  
  
Jack moves surprisingly silently in front of him. The matter is urgent, and they couldn’t wait for him to be fully healed, so a few painkillers and bandages have to do for the moment. There’s barely a hint of a limp on his left leg, but his breaths are deep and measured.  
  
Breaking into the house is ridiculously easy, because there isn’t anybody inside. Catboy leads him to a double door on the first floor, followed by dark steps and a narrow corridor that pushes at Hiccup’s most claustrophobic fears. He almost feels relieved when they encounter the first fearlings, his attention now focused on knocking them out as quick as possible as more come their way.  
  
He keeps stealing glances at Jack as they fight, the bulky men surrounding them no match for the agile boy, even gravely injured. But despite his initial resolve, Hiccup can see Jack getting fatigued too soon, now dodging blows instead of giving them. He can’t help but wonder how many of these fearlings were necessary to leave Catboy in such an state, or rather if it was Pitch alone the one to hit him so merciless.  
  
He comes closer to the pale boy, kicking the most immediate fearlings away from him and covering them both with his cape. One of his gas bombs, just a spark and—  
  
They are thrown to the ground by the  force of the explosion, and he turns to look at Jack at his loud grunt. “Fond of that trick, are you?”  
  
“I like to be efficient.” Hiccup smirks, and Catboy smirks back.  
  
“I can see that.”  
  
They move quicker after that, wary of reinforcements coming, and find the kids —some so scared they just cry silently, others just hysterically calling for their mothers—.  
  
They are huddled against each other in the center of some cages lined against the walls, the room looking strangely close to a dental clinic. There’s a chair in the middle of it, with straps for keeping the head and limbs in place, and a low table at its side. The air smells of antiseptic and something else that Hiccup haven’t smelled before.  
  
The boy seated at the chair doesn’t move a single muscle at their arrival, although Hiccup can see his unfocused eyes blinking wildly. Jack is on him in an instant, unbuckling the straps and holding the shivering kid against him, murmuring things on his hair. The boy’s body is completely limp.  
  
Hiccup takes a look at the instrumental on the table, syringes filled with dark liquids that ooze out of the needles in viscous trails. He inspects the boy’s arms carefully as to not startle him, finding the puncturing point where metal broke the skin and the liquid poured inside, the veins immediately around the patch of flesh are almost black.  
  
“We have to take them out of here”, he hisses, anger boiling up.  
  
Jack eases his hold on the boy to look at him, eyes suspiciously red and mouth set in a thin pale line. He simply nods, gesturing for him to take the boy in his arms as he moves to the cages, opening them up one by one.  
  
The kids look at them with wide eyes, but don’t move an inch from their places. “Hey, c'mon, you can go out. We’re not going to hurt you”, Jack whispers softly, giving them a shy smile. Hiccup stares at them from his spot, amazed at the sudden softness that Catboy uses.  
  
Hiccup has seen Jack fight; hell, he’s fought against him, and “adorable” wasn’t the word that had come to his mind in times like those. Graceful, yes. Handsome, maybe…  
  
A little blonde girl, the younger of the group, moves forward until Jack can scoop her in his arms. “Mommy?”  
  
“Yes sweetheart, we’re going to see your mom”, he promises. “But we have to go quickly and be very quiet, okay?”  
  
The rest of the kids seem encouraged by the little exchange, and soon enough they’re all outside the cages and following them through the corridors in a tidy line, Jack at the head and Hiccup at the bottom. The boy still in his arms is starting to stir by the time they have reached Hiccup’s car, and once the children are safely seated inside he turns to Jack and passes him along.  
  
“Where are you going?”  
  
“I have to do something.” Catboy sounds alarmed, but his expression is angered when Hiccup looks at him.  
  
“Wait, I’ll go with you—”  
  
“I don’t know how long it’ll take, and we can’t risk staying here any longer. I know you can drive, you’ve been watching me the whole ride. Take the kids to the police station next to the city hall; I have a contact there, he’ll know what to do.”  
  
Catboy looks positively doubtful at the mention of the police, and it doesn’t surprise Hiccup at all, but If he has trusted him enough to come here then Jack’ll have to trust him on this. Catboy finally gives him, murmuring a simple “Okay” through clenched teeth and moving to the car.  
  
For Hiccup, it’s more than enough.  
  
*  
  
“How are the kids?”  
  
Aster looks up at the sky before answering. “Fine. We called their families to the station, then took them to the hospital to make sure everything is okay with them.”  
  
“And the drugged kid? Something on that?”  
  
“They used some kind of neurotoxin, there’s no doubt in that, but the tests gave us nothing. We haven’t seen it before, and it doesn’t look like a combination of other known drugs. It’s pure.”  
  
Hiccup breaths heavily through his nose. With the adrenaline gone, the night is starting to wear on him, and he just wants to go home and sleep for a couple of days.  
  
“Thank you”.  
  
“You don’t have to thank me, you know that.”  
  
Aster scoffs, a bitter tinge in his voice when he next speaks. “We’ve been searching those kids weeks, and then you appear and save them in one single night.”  
  
“I didn’t work alone this time.” Hiccup confesses.  
  
Aster looks surprised. “Who?”  
  
“Catboy.”  
  
“Catboy!?” Ah, yes, just the reaction he expected. “Are you fucking nuts!?”  
  
“It’s complicated, okay? He doesn’t play in that league now. Or at least, now he’s playing solo, I don’t really know…” Aster looks with something akin to sympathy in his eyes, and it makes Hiccup inexplicably angry at himself. He takes a paper file from his armor and presses it against Aster’s chest. “If you want to thank me, then do something with this. We both know who’s behind all the shit happening in this city, and I’m getting tired of it.”  
  
The cop opens the heavy file and takes a look at its contents, a bitter grin on his lips. “As you said, it’s complicated”, he confides, but there’s nobody in the rooftop to hear him.  
  
*  
  
Catboy is, strangely enough, living now in his house.  
  
After that night two months ago Hiccup learnt that Jack had no family or friends to go back to, or a home, or even a place to crash for that instance.  
  
Hiccup also learnt that Jack was very reserved regarding his past, and that if he wanted to get to know the boy better it would be because Jack would open up to him, not the other way around.  
  
He’s pretty sure he’ll never get used to wake up and seeing Jack doing yoga just outside his window, Toothless lazily looking at him from his spot on the grass of the Haddock mansion.  
  
He’s pretty sure he’ll never get used to Jack turning around and smiling up at him, either.  
  
*  
  
They’re not allies, not exactly; but they’re not enemies, which is good.  
  
They go out and about their own businesses, giving each other their space —and if a few diamond rings and sapphire necklaces start disappearing, well, 'lost objects’ isn’t Hiccup’s division—.  
  
Tiny yellow notes start appearing on his room’s door: appointments, addresses, envelopes filled with photographs.  
  
When Hiccup questions him about it, Jack simply smiles and say it’s his rent.  
  
*  
  
Hiccup shows him the cave not too long after that, and his heart does a marvelous thing at the sight of Jack curiously touching his things and asking the most absurd questions because, mind you, Jack doesn’t know a single thing about science of physics or engineering.  
  
Jack knows how to read, at least, so when he pokes around one of his newest prototypes and destroys half of the cave in the following explosion, well, Hiccup then makes sure of putting a few signs here and there.  
  
*  
  
Jack has his own room in Hiccup’s personal wing, decorated in hues of blue and snowflakes because he likes that kind of thing.  
  
Hiccup’s room is a mess of green shades and scattered books and unfinished sketches, even if he spends the vast majority of his free time at the cave.  
  
Sometimes Hiccup wakes up in the middle of the night to quiet sobbing coming from the end of the corridor, and moves there until he’s seated on Jack’s bed and can comfort him, freckled arms around bony shoulders and their bodies propped against the headboard.  
  
Other times Hiccup wakes up in the middle of the night to his own shouting, and when pale hands caress his shaking own he eases his grasp off the wrinkled sheets.  
  
Now Jack comes to his room around bedtime, taking a book from Hiccup’s collection and settling himself under the covers while he waits for him to finish whatever design he’s doing. Hiccup comes to the bed, exhausted, and puts the covers over him; Jack turns the lights off and they curl around each other, breathing deeply and content and not waking up until the following morning.  
  
Hiccup isn’t sure when this new routine began, but he’s glad for it.  
  
*  
  
“My parents were killed when I was 10 because I wanted to go home.”  
  
And,  
  
“My little sister died when I was 12 because I wanted to go ice-skating. My parents abandoned me after that.”  
  
They hold each other’s hands for ours, not saying a single thing.  
  
At least, not with their voices.  
  
'It wasn’t your fault’, their hearts beat.  
  
*  
How he ended involved with Pitch is another story, one Jack murmurs to him as they watch the sun rising from a rooftop at the docks.  
  
“He came to the orphanage one day. He saw me there and that same evening I was in a car going to his house.  
  
At first I was enchanted by him. I mean, I didn’t expected anyone to adopt me, not with I had done but he didn’t seem to care about it. He gave  me hope, maybe I wasn’t so bad after all, maybe I could redeem myself, you know?  
  
I didn’t knew it at the time. Then it started innocent enough; I’d been without affection for so long that I didn’t find it strange.” Jack closes his eyes, red with unshed tears, and grips his knees tightly. “He— he has this thing for kids, and I… I’d entered the lion’s den without realizing.  
  
I kept him occupied, at least. The training, the 'Catboy’ thing came later; but I grew up, and he started to grow tired of me at the same time… Then the kids started disappearing, and I had to do something. I’m not like him. I’m not like him, Hiccup.”  
  
A sob rips through Jack when he finally hugs him. “You’re not. I believe you”, he says fiercely, because it’s true. “I’m sorry.”  
  
The news of Kozmozis Pitchniers’ sudden death are on the next morning paper’s first page.  
  
He doesn’t see Jack for a week, and when he comes back home he breaks his nose, first, and hugs him, second.  
  
“I’m sorry”, they both say.  
  
*  
  
“What’s with the buckles, seriously? Haven’t you heard about zippers? These super comfortable things with tiny teeth?”  
  
Hiccup rolls his eyes, making a few adjustments. “You were the one who wanted a new suit, you can’t complain now.”  
  
“It seemed much more comfortable in your designs”, Jack pouts, rolling his shoulders encased in the dark leather. “At least I look good.”  
  
“You haven’t looked at yourself yet”, Hiccup snorts.  
  
Jack kisses the scar on his chin, a devilish smile on his lips. “I don’t need to. Besides, you’re blushing.”  
  
Hiccup doesn’t try to tease Jack ever again.  
  
*  
  
“Hey, batbutt.”  
  
However, Jack keeps teasing him.  
  
Hiccup turns around with his most innocent smile on, the motion pulling at the muscles over his ribs. He winces a little. “H-hey, I thought you were going to be out tonight.”  
  
Jack is standing next to his side of the bed —and when did it turn into 'his side’?—, arms folded over his chest and tousled hair falling over his eyes.  
  
“It was quiet today, so I decided to come back earlier”, Jack stalks closer, moving almost predatorily with a perfectly shaped brow arched. Maybe the blood loss is affecting him a little. “I thought you weren’t going to go out tonight?”  
  
“Something came on.”  
  
“Something?” He gasps when Jack’s cold fingers move his own away from the wound at his side.  
  
“Poison Ivy, couldn’t grab the new suit”. Hiccup bites his lip to prevent himself from groaning, Jack inspecting the infected cuts carefully.  "I, ah, had to go with the old one.“  
  
“You mean the 'torn to pieces’ one”, Jack rolls his eyes at him. Uh-oh. “C'mon dummy, let’s get you patched up.”  
  
He lets Jack seat him on the edge of the bed and cut the top of his clothing carefully. He takes the first-aid kit they keep under the bed for times like these, and Hiccup entertains himself cooing at Toothless as Jack cleans his side.  
  
“I don’t mind playing nurse if you tell me in advance, but don’t disappear to go around doing stupid things, please”, he rambles, and Hiccup thinks he’s cute. He’s adorable. He does quick work of poking Hiccup’s arm with a dose of his designed antidote, and then a bit of morphine. He prepares the needle and thread, giving Hiccup a cautious look. “This is going to hurt a bit”. Hiccup just nods, wanting to end with it and curl around him and go to sleep. Jack must sense it, because he sews his wounds swiftly but expertly, keeping the stitches close and cleaning after them when he’s finished.  
  
He leaves a kiss to the first row of stitches and looks up at him. “That’s better”. Hiccup notices absently that he’s trembling like a leaf, but he stops thinking after Jack’s lips are pressed against him, soft and sure and tasting amazingly under his own.  
  
Hiccup wakes up with the sunlight that filters through the windows, and the first thing he sees is Jack smiling lazily up at him. “Good mornin’, Batbutt.”  
  
He kisses his nose and hugs him closer, not planning on going anywhere. “Good morning, Kittenboy.”  
  
Hiccup doesn’t know when life started to be kind to him, but he’s pretty sure it was when Jack appeared into it.


End file.
